Olive oils from wine estates: six delicious examples to try
1 Donnafugata, Biancolilla Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy
£21.09/50cl* donnafugata.it
Variety: 100% Biancolilla. A pure example of the variety, grown on Pantelleria’s windswept groves, with its gentle florality and vibrant fruit notes underpinned by the vegetal freshness of cherry tomatoes and the herbal earthiness of rosemary, lavender and thyme. A great way to understand – especially if tasted alongside the estate’s Nocellara Etnea (earthier, spicier and more robust) – how olive oils can be so varietal and terroir expressive.
2 Herdade do Esporão, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Alentejo, Portugal
£21.95/50cl Fortnum & Mason
Variety: Galega. This is a pure and vibrant example of Portugal’s flagship variety Galega. Very balanced, with a fruit-led attack dominated by green apple, crunchy pear and almond shells. The finish is moreish and gently spicy with lingering flavours of walnuts and toasted almonds.
3 Castello di Meleto, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Tuscany, Italy
£18/50cl* castellomeleto.com
Varieties: Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino, Pendolino. Castello de Meleto is committed to traditional farming methods and the preservation of the existing biodiversity. ‘A vacuum is always dangerous,’ says Giacomo Sensi, chief agronomist at the
Chianti Classico estate, referring to monoculture, ‘because it doesn’t exist in nature.’ Instead, Meleto seeks balance through precision organic farming, crop rotation and the introduction of bee colonies to fight pests and promote pollination. Its oil hails from 10ha on four different terroirs. Low yields and old trees result in a robust and deeply aromatic oil, with a citrus lift and almondy finish.
4 Sant’Or, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Patra, Greece
£13/50cl Pure Wines
Varieties: Patrinia, Stafiloelies. Having inherited his father’s land in the Peloponnese and then converted it to biodynamic practices, Panagiotis Dimitropoulos of Sant’Or Wines has become the committed guardian of a unique heritage and is determined to preserve the rare indigenous Mavrodaphne and Santameriana grapes, as well as these local olive varieties. Stafiloelies produces an intense and textural oil, with rich aromas of artichokes, milk thistle and fresh almonds, topped by mint, rosemary and black pepper.
5 Familia Torres, El Silencio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Catalonia, Spain
£12.20/50cl The Fine Cheese Co
Varieties: Arbequina. It wouldn’t be either fair or accurate to call this the entry-level oil in the range produced by Torres at its Purgatori estate in Costers del Segre. Granted, it is the cheapest and the more widely available oil, but it hails from 400-year-old Arbequina trees and is extremely balanced and elegant. The nose is fresh and complex, with herbal, vegetal and citrus nuances. Flavours of artichoke, tomato leaf and blanched almonds are followed by a subtle, spicy lift.
6 Taylor’s, Quinta de Vargellas Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Douro, Portugal
£10.95-£15.95/50cl Cotswold Port Co, Dunell’s, The Secret Bottle Shop
Varieties: Madural, Cordovil, Verdeal. Produced from the 3,000 olive trees that have, for centuries, lined the edge of roads and vineyard slopes of the iconic Douro estate. Elegantly grassy, with notes of freshly cut grass and asparagus, it unfolds with a fruity and smooth-textured midpalate, followed by a gently spicy finish.