500 ml - Umbria, Italy - Organic
(picked and pressed November 2011, Olives are picked once a year)
2011 Tasting Notes:
Giuseppe's
Etruria Novello Olive Oil is always a favorite with us. We have had his oils and vinegars for almost forever, and the reason is because everything he makes is top notch and real. He doesn't bring us
Italian made, adjusted for the American market. He brings us a little bit of his hometown in his foods. His father still hand prunes the olive branches in the family orchards, and the oil tastes that way. Throughout the year Etruria's oil carries on the same characteristics as the
novello, albeit a little less punchy, as you would expect, with very much the same flavor profile that the year starts with. This is not some oil made to go to "market", this is the same oil that Giuseppe's family uses at home.
Perhaps, his
novello has the most nose of all the oils this year (it's interesting that the 2011 oils are less vaporous than previous years.) Its color is a deep yellow green. The mouth is filled with a buttery feel. Left to the air for a moment before swallowing a teaspoon, it seems the peppery kick is more pronounced. A smooth olive oil feel finishing with the edge of the tongue picking up the hint of olive bitterness. And finishing with a medium burn in the mid to back of the throat; a cough may ensue, but not always.
2010 Tasting Notes:
It is one of the top three oils of the year. The best from Umbria, Italy! Smooth, revealing a clean olive taste. Not harsh in any way.
2009 Tasting Notes:
As always, this oil is wonderful, full of green color and the grassiest in flavor. Nothing too much, always the right amount. If I could only have one oil on a desert island, this might be the one! This oil arrives in all its murky glory, full of nose and flavor, rich and thick.The green aromas of olive, artichoke and grass jumps out of the bottle, and the cloudy oils is a gorgeous green tinted gold. It opens with hints of grass and artichoke moving rapidly to a smooth green olive before finishing with a huge pepper punch.
About the Producer
In ancient times, portions of Umbria were conquered by the Etruscans and became part of what the Romans called
Etruria -- adopted by Giuseppe for the name of his Umbrian specialty products company.
To talk to Giuseppe Cagnoni about his company Etruria is to talk about olives, specifically Umbrian olives. Giuseppe produces his olive oil in the small Umbrian town of Trevi. The small town of Trevi in Umbria is perched on a pyramid of a hill surrounded by miles and miles of olive groves. This is where five generations of Giuseppe Cagnoni's family have grown olives and pressed them into exceptional oil. As in the old days, much is done by hand - and
everything is organic.
The primary olive used is Muraiolo, an Umbrian specialty, with small amounts of Leccino and Frantoio rounding out the blend. Only the first pressing of his finest organically grown olives are pressed for this oil. In various parts of Italy, farmers often press small amounts of olives with fresh citrus fruit to create heavenly scented oils for family and friends.
About the Olives
University researchers have dated the rootstock for some of Giuseppe's trees back to 1,000 B.C. . . it seems the olives were there even before the Etruscans. The main olive variety planted on the Cagnoni property is Moraiolo, a specialty of Umbria. However, Moraiolo is not self-pollinating, and so the property is also planted with small amounts of Frantoio and Leccino, Tuscan staples. The groves are planted on the rugged hillsides in parcels that 380-600 m. above sea level.
Giuseppe's father Eugenio is a master pruner who carefully prunes all the trees once a year, the old-fashioned way: climbing a ladder and working from the top down. His services are in demand by other producers.