Oils and Vinegars

Like fine wines, olive oils are a product of the varietal of olive, where they are grown and how they are harvested, milled and produced and the subtleties and depth of their flavours are testament to this.

Spain has one of the highest levels of production of olive oil. Oils can be produced from the olives of single estates, including single olive varietals, as well as oils produced by coupage, where different varieties are blended.

Some regions, such as arid Andalucía and dry, humid Catalonia, are famous for their olive groves, stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see, whereas oils are less common from other regions such as Navarra. Our selection covers oils from the north, south and even the islands, which are all distinctly different styles. Olive trees have to be extremely hardy to flourish and produce fruit in some of the extreme climates, soils and environments they naturally set root in. They can survive with very little water - irrigation levels are strictly controlled to preserve precious resources and the less water an olive tree has, the more intense the flavour of the oil will be (but the lower the yield). Rainfall can therefore have an impact on the quality of an oil, making certain years´ harvests better than others.

Olives are harvested in October- November, with new season oils ready by the Spring. Care is taken when milling (often with huge granite rollers) to maintain the temperature of the olives, as heat can change the flavour of the resulting oil, which is why many oils pressed under a certain temperature are labelled "cold extracted". Several of our suppliers produce organically, allowing the natural balance of flora and fauna to keep their groves in order, and others have invested heavily in state-of-the-art equipment which brings the olive to the mill within hours, treating the oil like a fruit juice and which presses them with extreme attention to all detail. Oils can be filtered or unfiltered, those which are unfiltered will sometimes look cloudy when cold.