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Colline di Santa Cruz Olio Nuovo - 375 ml bottle - California - Fall 2018 Harvest
2017 Tasting Notes
Always the first oil to try, the robust flavor of the new year is always a shocker to the system. By November, the previous year's oils, still with their own personality, have mellowed dramatically.
So it’s always a great, enthralling, awakening , eye-opening moment when you try the first oil of the year of the new year. For me this year, Colline de Santa Cruz was the first oil I tried.
What a shocker it was! Extremely bitter right out of the bottle it was shocking not just to the edges of the tongue but in fact the whole tongue had this sort of vapor of bitter. It is so unusual. And the peppery hit was almost instantaneous, coughing and coughing. 36 hours later the oil had melded the bitterness, dropping by 50 percent. Character still abounded, the oil imparted so much crazinesss it seemed to open up all the pores so everything became alive! From the tip of the tongue to the back of the throat this oil wakes you up! It’s a lot of personality, if your up for it.
2016 Tasting Notes
The first whiff of the bottle and it's almost as if there's nothing there. It's very light and barely hints of what's to come.
In the spoon the color has greenery, with hints of shades of darkness on the edges.
The first tastes starts on the lips and on the tip of the tongue. It is incredibly buttery as if the butter is so thick that your tongue and your lips can't meet.
Next, the oil moves to the back of your mouth cavity. It's almost as if the flavor floats within the mouth across the top of the tongue without touching.
As the oil floats towards your throat a touch of bitterness touches down on the edges of your tongue. It’s a wide feel, not a sharp edge which is more typical this time of year. I have never felt this before.
As you're feeling the bitterness build as it moves to the back, high up in the throat a large vapor cloud gathers. It, in turn, turns sharp and turns into a cough and a tickle. That tickle is way down at the back, feeling like it is way past the throat. It feels as if the pang is resting on your clavicle.
The first taste for me is usually a small sip that I spread in my mouth and my tongue and lips to get an overall feel, not a big gulp. This oil was so interesting and had so many elements that I was cautious. It's a sophisticated complex oil, yet has very simple elements.
I love this oil this year!
Colline de Santa Cruz!
Grown in the Salt air of the Bay!
Colline di Santa Cruz 2016 color is a dark, rich, vibrant green, reminiscent of some Spanish oils from the past.
To the nose, it's very light with a distinct tinge on the outer edges of your inner nostril. It's a wild olive oil this year: try a mouthful and you will have a buttery cloud in your mouth first and then it disappears within nano-seconds to be replaced by a pleasant bitterness on the edge of the tongue and a kick in the back of the throat. It’s a wild ride.
Buttery is probably the wrong word; olivey, if that is a word, describes that disappearing vapor flavor best.
If you take in a swig and hold your tongue to the top of your mouth, the flavor and taste of the oil will last a bit longer before suddenly vanishing.
Some oil remains and glistens on the lips and is quite a pleasant reminder of the flavors.
If swallowed correctly a good cough will ensue.
A robust pasta like squid ink would pair well with this oil.
2014 Tasting NotesThis new Oil has wonderful soft feeling as it fills your mouth. And then as you wait for the oil to dissipate it’s as if the oil is alive, bouncing around sharing it’s flavors everywhere. The tip of the tongue says it’s a wonderful buttery gentleness, with the edges describing a touch of bitter indicating the freshness of the oil. With a nice gentle feel of pepper in the back of the throat up high, the oil finishes nicely, leaving a wonderful reminder of the flavor of fresh that Olio Nuovos bring! This is an assertive oil, with a gentle approach. The very best it has ever been! 2012 Tasting Notes: It might be the salty air that makes it great! With dark olive green color, the oil is warm in feel to the lips, filling the mouth with a fullness of buttery oil that turns to an edge of bitter, and then a sharp burn at the top of the back of the throat. When it's all gone, the mouth feels a vapor-tingly refreshment like a good mint might leave.
Unlike some oils this time of year, and more like the person who creates the oil, Colline di Santa Cruz is very friendly with a strong sense of flavor. Not an oil that disappears from memory, it is an oil that participates in a dish.
For some this oil can have the fiery punch and burn you are looking for. For others, the burn is slight. It really is an oil that has personality, and shows its true self when used!
Limited supply.
2011 Tasting Notes:
Surviving another last minute weather storm of tremendous Santa Anna winds, the olives stayed on the trees to be harvested. The result is a very pronounced oil. With lots of character and flavor. Though it might not be for everyone, it is definitely an oil that has a good strong peppery finish. This years oil fills the mouth with a fullness that moves to a flavor of olives (yes, some oils don't even taste like the olives they come from.) Then the wait for three beats and the pepper kicks in.
2010 tasting notes:
These olives survived a very cold Thanksgiving, to then produce a great oil. Rich and green with nice grassy notes, and some peppery punch. Perfect on crusty toast with a little Italian salt, or on a simple winter green salad, or just dip in some rustic Italian bread. So easy and so good.
About le Colline de Santa Cruz:
Chris Banthien produces one of the finest olive oils on the planet. Chris' work began in 1996, when she purchased a 20-acre plot of land that the locals called "Zucchini Hill". After moving around 30,000 tons of earth and terracing the land, Chris purchased 700 olive trees from an established California olive producer, and imported another 900 trees from Italy. She brought in four Tuscan varietals - Frantoio, Ascolano, Leccino and Taggiasca - to get a particular taste in the oil. She preferred an Italian taste in olive oil, with their signature pungency in the back of the throat.
Chris says that the taste of the olive oil is heavily dependent on two things: the soil and the weather. Even the identical varietals can produce oils with very distinct flavors when grown in different places. As it turns out, the rich soil of the Santa Cruz foothills, combined with the almost constant wet, warm air from the ocean, creates an almost perfect mimic of some of the finest olive groves in Italy.