The olive groves are living testimonies of history. There are ancient plantations, with olive trees approaching or over a thousand years old. These trees are impressive, for their robust dimensions as well as the history around them; the men and women who have worked with them or contemplated them.
There are thousands of centennial olive trees left. Thousands and thousands were planted between the end of the 20th century and these first two decades of the 21st. The ancestors selected the best varieties for the soil and climate of the Gerona regions, from sea level to the more mountainous areas. As a result of this olive tree and oil history, in 2008 the Protected Designation of Origin Empordà Oil was born, which recognizes three varieties of autochthonous olive tree: argudell, corivell and verdal or llei de Cadaqués, only from olive trees from Alt and Baix Empordà, three municipalities of the Pla de l’Estany and five from the Gerona region.
The regulatory council also allows the DOO label to be placed on Empordà oils that do not exceed a fifty percent of the Arbequina variety, which has also been adapted to the territory. However, the argudell variety is the most grown and characteristic as it produces very high-quality oils. The corivell is quite testimonial. The verdal variety adds personality to the oils of Cadaqués.
In the same way that olive trees grow despite the denomination, with local or imported varieties, in recent years research and passion have led to the use of old varieties, some of which are about to be recovered or are recovering well, such as the salar from Arbúcies, in the Montseny, in La Selva.
Oils from Gerona with the 2020-2021 Girona Excel·lent seal
Mas Auró Argudell
This extraordinary, fruity and green virgin olive oil is the exclusive fruit of the centuries-old olive trees of the autochthonous Argudell variety, which are grown following the strictest criteria of organic production, in the hills of Espolla and Sant Climent. Mas Auró is a family business dedicated exclusively to olive trees and the production of virgin olive oil, with a mill in Esponell, in Pla de l’Estany.
Company: Auró Agrícola, SL
Serraferran, extra virgin olive oil
Fina Sala follows the secular tradition of producing oil from Ventalló, a historic town in the Gerona region. The Serraferran is made with century-old, even millenium old olive trees, and with the Argudell and Arbequina olive varieties. The result is a balanced, green, fresh, light oil, with bitter notes of artichoke, tomato, apple and nuts from the Argudell variety and fruity notes from the arbequina variety.
Company: Oli de Ventalló, SL
Mas Auró Koroneiki
This fruity and intense green, extraordinary virgin olive oil is obtained from olives of the koroneiki variety, the most grown variety in Greece. In the farm of Esponellà de Mas Auró there are 300 planted olive trees of this variety with a high yield of high-quality oil. As Mas Arce harvests its olives at an early stage of ripening, its koroneiki oil has a high biophenol content.
Company: Auró Agrícola, SL
Mas Auró L’Olivet
In search of a balanced profile oil and thinking of a wider market, Mas Auró makes a blend from a selection of its extra virgin olive oils, which varies year after year, according to the results of the harvest. The selected olive tree offers a balance between the fruitiness of the green koroneiki olive and the frantoio, and the smoothness of the riper Arbequina olives.
Company: Auró Agrícola, SL
El jurat del
tast d’olis.
Lluís Guerrero
Tècnic investigador de l’IRTA (Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries)
Natàlia Roig
Sommelier i professora del CETT (Campus de Turisme, Hoteleria i Gastronomia) de Barcelona
Joan Morillo
Sommelier i cap de sala del restaurant Divinum, de Girona
Josep Sucarrats
Periodista i director de la revista gastronòmica Cuina
Marc Orozco
Periodista gastronòmic. Programa Deixa’m tastar, de la Cadena Ser
