A dark fruitiness in Provence, it's the taste of yesteryear
It's the taste of our elders. It is especially the taste of the time when the millers could not crush all the olives harvested in the same day - they did not have the technical capacities. So, they stored the olives while waiting to be able to pass them to the press. This waiting time caused the piled olives to heat up and lose their water and bitterness.. The result was crumpled olives, fermenting.
Today producers and mills still produce dark fruity, but in a controlled way, and not by default to do otherwise. The olives intended to be transformed into dark fruity are stored for a few days in closed crates to bring them up to temperature and to start the fermentation process which debitters the olives.. The degree of fermentation is checked with a thermometer to be able to stop the process and grind the olives once the desired level of fermentation has been reached..
The oil produced with such olives is very sweet, without bitterness, without ardor and with aromas of undergrowth and black olive, cocoa butter.
The green fruitiness, it is the freshness and the ardor!
These are the olives harvested at the beginning of the season, green or rotating, et, to get a voucher fruity green, the olives are crushed the same day of the harvest. They don't wait ! This is now possible with the modern crushing means at our disposal. (continuous centrifugal chain that prevents any contact with the air, mills with large crushing capacity) This gives an oil with flavors of fresh grass, tomato plant, basil, raw artichoke.
The different varieties of olives used will give this oil its typicality : raw artichoke and peppery note for the Aglandau variety, candy, fresh almonds and apple for Salonènque, ardence and herbaceous aromas for the Picholine etc…. Thus the final taste of the green fruitiness will depend on the varieties of olives used and their percentage in the assembly of the finished product..
Extra virgin olive oil can be easily stored for up to 18 months without any alteration in quality or taste if a few simple rules are followed.
Olive oil should be stored in a cool place (but not cold) protected from light. If the oil is too cold it becomes milky and thick. Just bring it back slowly to room temperature, its taste will not be altered. Contact with air is to be absolutely avoided because the oil can become rancid very quickly.. Bottles should be closed tightly after use., and to transfer the oil contained in the cans into bottles as soon as possible. A deposit may form at the bottom of the bottle: this is normal and natural and does not affect the taste of the oil in any way.
Oil extraction
Our olives are brought to the mill the same day of harvest; the oil is extracted by centrifugation under a continuous chain which has the advantage of avoiding any alteration of the product in contact with air. The oil thus produced is then bottled by us on our farm..
The varieties of olives
We cultivate seven varieties of olive tree different varieties including Aglandau and Salonènque which are the main varieties of our region and which constitute the basis of our AOC Aix en Provence oil. The other varieties are : la Picholine, the tench, Cayon, Grossane and Manzanille which allow us to create unique oil blends. Each variety gives us special aromas and flavors: our job is to marry them together to sublimate them.
The assembly of the AOC (AOP) Aix en Provence
The assembly of the AOC (AOP) takes place in family, after a tasting of the oil of each variety of olive, to create a balanced and harmonious oil based on Aglandau and Salonènque which releases its aromas gradually and which remains long in the mouth.
Protected Designation of Origin : the origin above all
Protected Designation of Origin (AOP) recognizes the existing and historical link between a product and its terroir (understood in the broad sense : sol, climate, know how…). It is the guarantee of an extra virgin olive oil unique, typical and of certified origin. Extra virgin olive oil is obtained from the olive exclusively by processes that do not involve no alteration of the product. It's the juice of the olive.