Monva’s Picual olive, planted in a traditional olive grove, gives us an oil with an intense flavour and a high content in oleic acid, provitamins and natural antioxidants, which provide extraordinary benefits for our health and better preserve the oil’s taste, smell and appearance.
For Dominus Early Harvest, you have the picual olives that are at the “First Days” of ripening, boasting a green herbaceous oil marked by spring notes reminiscent of healthy fruit in the full bloom of youth.
For Valle Magina, you have the picual olives that are harvested in the medium ripening stage of November, boasting an intense fruity flavour with a dense and full-bodied mouth-feel. As the olives moving onto a medium ripening stage, the transformed phenolic profiles, allowing one to have an oil with great stability.
The harvest begins in October, when Monva take the olives to the mill before they have started to ripen. The harvest continues into December, when olives have completed their ripening process. Each brand in Monva’s Homegrown Oil range treasures the organoleptic qualities and unique properties of the oil from each stage of ripening of the Picual olive.
The production of an excellent Extra Virgin Olive Oil requires two key factors: quality fruit (hence the importance of having your own olive grove) and a delicate extraction process.
Spanish end-to-end producers are known for their well-equipped facilities allowed by their economies of scale. During our visit of the production site, we have seen such feature that is even more prominent at Monva where the necessary cooling and temperature controlled has been done. At every stage of the production (harvesting, milling and mixing, centrifugation, decantation), the highest standard has been adhered to before going onto the organic packaging process that is certified under ISO 9001 and IFS, amongst other quality standards.
MONVA is a member of the Denomination of Origin Sierra Mágina. The olive grove extends across 61,000 hectares in the Sierra Mágina region, which is the European Union’s largest registered denomination of origin in terms of extension.
It is the largest source of activity and production and most of the area is occupied by traditional olive groves growing on slopes, with an average gradient between 10% and 15%.
The entire production and packaging process is carried out at the “Cortijo Virgen de los Milagros” family estate, thus guaranteeing quality control to obtain a truly exceptional olive oil.
Monva’s team carries out extensive preliminary work to achieve the best quality olives, from analysing the soil in our olive groves, the supply of water and the necessary nutrients, through to the moment of harvesting.
To achieve high antioxidants whilst achieving great flavour, you can’t pamper the olive trees too much. Necessary draught, and challenges posed by the weather contribute to quality if on balance. It is not just a mechanical process of milling and pressing, but a creation of art that takes years of experience and scientific know-how to preserve the health-giving properties given by the mother earth.
Olivares Vivos certification is based of the most important scientific study carried out worldwide on the biodiversity of olive groves. Olivares Vivos certification has the scientific endorsement of the Spanish National Research Council and the University of Jaen, under the coordination of SEO/BirdLife.
At Monva’s estate, it is not uncommon to find wild life, rabbits, wild goats, eagles, owls, you name it. Whilst many estates are undergoing restoration of biodiversity, Monva has carried such activities for decades.
At Monva, it held the records of having more than 40 species of herbs found in 1sqm. Many would have thought why share the water with these plant coverings. But the truth is that the aromas and the attributes of these herbs, eventually contributed to the quality of olive fruits, resulting into a more complex sensational experience that make their olive oil unique.
This is the chapel where the generations of Monva’s family get married. Their history is written on the land of Sierra Magina. Their deep care into the environment is far more than a marketing tool, but their love for the piece of land, on which give generations has been listening to the serenity of olive groves and the symphony of many birds species that inhabit on the etate.
Such legacy runs in their blood, with a simple wish for the many more generations to continue enjoy the liquid gold of mother nature.