“The olive harvest and pressing is one of my fondest childhood memories at la Fattoria. My brother, sister and I would all hurry to the building which is now known as the Bottega del Mulino. The mill was located here. We savored delicious slices of toasted bread, dripping with bitter, fresh, green olive oil, like the most stunning emerald.”

Faye

Planted among our vines, our olive groves stretch across almost forty-five hectares, that is 8,000 plants of the following varieties: Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino and Pendolino.

Just like during Antiquity, olive trees protect the vines and the vines protect the olive trees. Most of the trees are more than one hundred years old but some of them have had to be replanted.

Thriving in the Mediterranean climate, olive trees can live a long time – some have been known to live 1,500 years! – . However, in 1985, Tuscany witnessed exceptional, deadly frosts which forced us to replace some of the trees.

We put just as much love and passion into producing our oils as we do for our wines. Olive trees flower in spring and the olives are harvested in fall.

The olive harvest is always done by hand, only during the day and never in the rain, from mid-October to the end of November.

Green olives, picked at the start of the harvest, have a low yield but possess a higher concentration of aroma and color. Ripe olives, meanwhile, picked at the end of the season, offer a higher oil yield and a sweeter flavor than olives picked when less ripe. That’s why we decided to divide the oils into 3 different categories, which corresponded to the 3 stages of olive ripeness.

Our three different oils all possess the same nutritional qualities and only their flavor varies according to when the olives were harvested and pressed. Some, such as Laudemio, are slightly more bitter and perfect when consumed raw, while extra virgin for example, is ideal for cooking with.

If you wish to become an olive oil expert or simply satisfy your curiosity, we hold yearly Oil Camps for all those wishing to discover our exceptional way of life and to get a real idea of what goes into making an exceptional bottle of oil. Don’t wait, give into temptation with these Tuscan grands crus !

Si vous voulez devenir un expert de l’huile d’olives ou, tout simplement satisfaire votre curiosité, nous organisons, chaque année, des « Oil Camps » ouverts à ceux qui veulent découvrir notre mode de vie et avoir une vraie idée de ce que nécessite  une bouteille d’huile d’olive d’exception. N’hésitez pas, fondez pour ces grands crus de Toscane !