Arbequina EVOO from Les Garrigues: microclimate, history and unique quality in Lleida

The geographical secret of Les Garrigues

In the heart of the Les Garrigues district (Lleida), Cervià de les Garrigues stands out for its dry, hot summers, its cold winters marked by persistent fog, and its arid limestone soils. These harsh conditions force the arbequina olive tree to produce small fruit that is exceptionally concentrated in monounsaturated fats and fruity aromas.

Why does the microclimate change the taste of the oil?

The microclimate of Les Garrigues changes the oil because it puts the tree under stress right through the cycle: the tree gives less fruit, smaller and with less flesh, and that fruit concentrates more aroma per kilo. An irrigated grove on fertile ground gives more kilos per tree; a dry-farmed one on limestone gives less quantity and more character. That is why the same variety planted in another district does not produce the same arbequina extra virgin olive oil.

What are dry-stone terraces?

Dry-stone terraces are growing platforms built from stone fitted by hand, with no mortar or cement, turning a slope into flat, workable ground. Ours are centuries old and still doing their job: holding on to what little soil there is and slowing the water when the storms come. And they have one consequence you can taste in the oil: no heavy machinery fits on a narrow terrace, so the olives are picked by hand, tree by tree.

The legacy of 1785 at El Molinet de cal Flari

The family emblem, carved in stone above the lintel of the main door since 1785, stands for more than two centuries of devotion to the land. Seven generations on, we still pick by hand and cold-mill the same day.

Seven generations means seven times that someone in this house has decided to carry on with the grove rather than let it go. What gets handed down is not just the land: it is the judgement of when to start picking, when to stop, and which batch is worth keeping.

The arbequina olive: what it is and why people look for it

What is the arbequina olive variety?

Arbequina is an olive variety of Catalan origin, with a very small, rounded fruit, grown mainly for oil, and today one of the most widely planted in the world. The tree itself is compact, comes into production early and takes well to dry farming. Its fat yield is not the highest in the Spanish catalogue, but it gives a mild, fruity oil that suits very different palates.

What does arbequina olive oil taste like?

A well-made arbequina olive oil tastes of fresh fruit and almond: a sweet opening, a fruitiness that recalls green apple, tomato leaf and banana, and a bitterness and pepperiness that are gentle and balanced. It is not an oil that scratches at your throat. That softness is its virtue and also its limit: it asks for a recent harvest, because it has less room than the bitter varieties to hide the passing of time.

Arbequina and picual: the comparison everybody makes

Arbequina and picual is the question we hear most across the counter. There is no good variety and bad variety: there are profiles that solve different problems.

• Arbequina — Taste: sweet, fruity, green apple and almond. Intensity: mild. Use: raw over fish, vegetables, salads, toast, fresh cheeses, baking and home-made mayonnaise.
• Picual — Taste: green olive, leaf and tomato plant, with marked bitterness and pepper. Intensity: high. Use: stews, red meat, pulses and frying, thanks to its stability under heat.
• Hojiblanca — Taste: fresh grass and almond, with a characteristic peppery finish. Intensity: medium. Use: fried bases, roasted vegetables and one-pot dishes.
• Cornicabra — Taste: apple fruitiness with a persistent medium bitterness. Intensity: medium-high. Use: roasts, escabeche and hearty dishes.

Which is better, arbequina or picual?

Neither is better in the abstract: arbequina shows best raw, and picual stands up better to fierce heat. If we had to advise a well-stocked kitchen, we would say two bottles: an arbequina for everything served uncooked and a more bitter variety for frying and stewing. And if there is only going to be one, look at what you actually cook at home rather than at which variety has the better reputation.

What P.D.O. Les Garrigues is and what it demands

What does the P.D.O. Les Garrigues seal guarantee?

P.D.O. Les Garrigues guarantees that the oil is of the arbequina variety, that the olives were grown and milled inside the demarcated area, and that its acidity does not exceed 0.5º. It was the first food designation of origin recognised in Spain, and it is overseen by its regulating council, the Consell Regulador. It does not certify that you will like a given oil: it certifies that the oil is what it says it is and comes from where it says it does.

What does an acidity below 0.2º mean?

Acidity measures free fatty acids, which is to say the deterioration of the fruit and of the process: you cannot taste it, and it has nothing to do with whether an oil is peppery. The law allows up to 0.8º for the name extra virgin, and the P.D.O. tightens that to 0.5º; ours comes in below 0.2º. That margin comes from picking healthy fruit and milling it the same day.

The olive grower's year, month by month

The oil of one season is decided over the twelve months before it:

• January to March: pruning and thinning after the harvest, clearing the cut wood and repairing any dry-stone walls that have given way in the rains.
• April and May: budding and the appearance of the flower clusters; the tree gets ready to blossom, the most delicate moment of the year.
• May and June: flowering and fruit set. Of all those flowers only a small share becomes fruit, and a good part of the harvest is settled right there.
• July and August: the stone hardens and the fruit fills out under dry heat; the stage that explains why this olive stays small and concentrated.
• September and October: veraison, when the arbequina olive turns from green to straw and then to purple.
• November to January: hand picking and daily milling. The earlier you pick, the more aromatic the oil and the fewer litres you get per kilo.

From tree to mill, the same day

Olives begin to ferment the moment they leave the tree, so what we pick in the morning is milled before the day is out. We work with cold extraction below 22 ºC: raising the temperature of the paste increases the yield, but it takes the volatile aromas with it. These are decisions that cost money and that you cannot see in the bottle. Our customers rate us 4.9 out of 5 on Google, from 55 reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best arbequina extra virgin olive oil?

The best arbequina extra virgin olive oil is the most recent harvest you can find, with the origin and the variety on the label, low acidity and cold extraction. Be wary of labels that don't say where the olives were milled or which harvest they came from. A seal like P.D.O. Les Garrigues saves you part of that checking.

Is all arbequina oil P.D.O. Les Garrigues?

No. Arbequina is now grown in many parts of Spain and of the world, and the seal goes only on oil whose olives were grown and milled inside the demarcated area and which meets the requirements of the Consell Regulador. An arbequina from elsewhere can be very good, but it does not answer to the same rulebook.

Is arbequina oil any good for frying?

Yes, though it is not where it shows best. Any extra virgin copes well with frying at home, but the more bitter and peppery varieties, such as picual, hold up better to repeated heat. Save the arbequina olive for raw use and dressings, where you get the whole of its fruitiness.

Why is the arbequina olive so small?

Because it is a trait of the variety, made more pronounced by dry farming. The arbequina olive variety naturally gives a small, rounded fruit, and on arid limestone soils with dry summers it stays smaller still, with less flesh. That translates into fewer litres per hectare and an oil more concentrated in aroma.

How do you keep an arbequina oil at home?

Store it closed, somewhere dark and cool, away from the hob and the window. The three enemies of oil are light, heat and air, so it pays not to leave the bottle open any longer than you need to. An arbequina is mild and aromatic: it rewards you for finishing it within the harvest year.