Three native olive tree varieties: argudell, corivell and verdal —or Cadaqués llei— define the PDO Oli de l’Empordà. Olives have been cultivated for more than two thousand years. This is proven by some remains dating back to the Bronze Age, but it was not until the 6th century BC, after Greek colonisation, that the current landscape of olive groves in Alt Empordà was established, mirroring the olive groves under Mount Parnassos.
While no olive tree is believed to be over a thousand years old, this land is home to many centenary and even near-millennium olive trees. Oil from ancient olive trees is neither better or worse than other oils, but it does carry the weight of history as an added bonus: olive trees that have witnessed great deeds, tragic battles, and treacherous invasions.
The PDO Oli de l’Empordà, established in 2008, covers a highly renowned area, including Alt and Baix Empordà, three municipalities in the Pla de l’Estany, and five in the Gironès. However, many olive groves still survive in regions such as La Selva and La Garrotxa, and some have been restored and brought back into production.
Beyond the scope of the PDO, experiments have been made with fashionable varieties and in new territories. The regulatory council also permits oils containing up to fifty percent of the Arbequina variety, which has adapted remarkably well to the region, to be labelled as PDO Oli de l’Empordà. Today, olive groves are considered a crop of very high environmental value, as they help act as firebreaks, especially important in times like these, when climate change has increased the risk of wildfires.
Oil from Girona with the 2025-2026 Girona Excel·lent seal
Fontclara Oil – Organic Arbequina
Oli Fontclara is a company from El Baix Empordà whose hallmarks are sustainability and innovation. Currently, they cultivate sixty hectares of olive groves, with around 8,000 trees. This organic Arbequina extra virgin olive oil is fresh, herbaceous and aromatic, and sweet in the mouth, with a moderate pungency and subtle bitterness. There is a hint of green apple and almond, and the intense greenery of a Mediterranean field.
Company: Oli Fontclara
L’Olivina
Mas l’Arbreda is an agricultural estate in the Llémena valley, in the volcanic area of El Gironès, with a plantation of different varieties of olive trees. The extra virgin olive oil L’Olivina is a blend of the different varieties planted on the farm, in which Corbella and Frantoio predominate, with a little Picual and Arbequina. All the varieties present contribute their own attributes: green apple or green almond, bitter, spicy, freshly cut grass or vegetables.
Company: Mas l’Arbreda
Mas Auró Argudell ECO
This 100% single variety extra virgin olive oil from early harvest Argudell is green and fruity with an intense flavour, very marked green notes on the nose and a notable content of polyphenols. It is the fruit of olive trees of the native Argudell variety, cultivated following the strictest criteria of organic production, on the hills of Espolla and Sant Climent de Sescebes, in L’Alt Empordà, and in the fields of Esponellà, in El Pla de l’Estany. In the mouth, it gives a medium-high bitterness and a notable spiciness, with a citrus freshness. The nose gives characteristic aromas of green fruit, artichoke, green tomato, green walnut and medicinal herbs such as rosemary and thyme.
Company: Mas Auró
Mas Auró Supremo ECO
Mas Auró is a family business dedicated exclusively to olive growing and the production of virgin olive oil, with a mill in Esponellà, in El Pla de l’Estany. Their Supremo ECO oil is a blend of extraordinary early harvest oils from the Empordà varieties Argudell and Corivell, with a small amount of the Greek Koroneiki. This oil has a complex, green and rather intense profile, with clear bitter and spicy notes, with aromas of artichoke, almond, tomato, green pepper, olive leaf and freshly cut grass.
Company: Mas Auró
