ARBEQUINE : Originally from Catalonia, the Arbequine is a small, dark brown, aromatic olive. Its accessible flavour has made it the world’s most popular olive. Its oil offers a wide palette of flavours : apple, almond, walnut, banana, pineapple, fennel, green mint, aniseed, green grass, tomato, artichoke and green pepper. It is harvested early.
ARBOSANA : Also coming from Catalonia, the Arbosana is a very old variety of olive. With a violet hue when ripe, it is the source for an oil with a distinctive scent of thistle, almonds and notes of fruit and spice. It is harvested extremely early.
KORONEIKI : Originally from Crete, the Koroneiki is oval and asymmetric in shape. Its green oil with hints of gold has a character all its own. Complex, intense and fruity, it offers distinctive piquant (cut grass, olive and green tomato) and bitter (artichoke, green wood) notes. It is harvested early.
MOROCCAN PICHOLINE : Native to Morocco, the Picholine is oval and asymmetrical in shape. This high quality olive with a strong, fruity aroma gives an oil high in anti-oxidants but low in acidity. It is also harvested early.
STRIPPING AND CLEANING : The presence of leaves during the extraction process can oxidise the oil and reduce its quality. The olives are thus stripped using a system of vibrating sieves, before being washed in machines that keep the water clean.
GRINDING AND MIXING : To release the oil contained in the olives the skin must be broken and the flesh mashed in metal grinders to create a paste which is then mixed for 45 minutes at 27°C to ensure it is homogeneous.
EXTRACTION IN TWO PHASES : The mixed paste is then injected into a centrifuge known as a decanter. There are two phases to the extraction – liquid (oil and water) and solid. The liquid phase then undergoes a second extraction to separate the oil from the water.
STORAGE : Olive oil is stored in stainless steel tanks in a nitrogen atmosphere. The tanks are situated three metres underground in order to ensure a perfect, stable temperature and the absence of light. Each oil variety is stored in a dedicated tank allowing 15,000 litres of oil to be perfectly preserved – matching an estate of 600 hectares.