Nunez de Prado Organic DO "Flower of the Oil" (Flor de Aceite) Olive Oil
500 ml bottle/2023 Harvest - Cordoba, Spain
Extra Virgin Olive oil from gravity extraction but before the olives are pressed through mats. Unfiltered with very low acidity (0.1%) - much lower than required to be called "extra virgin". Blend of fourteen varieties, principally Picuda, Picual and Hojiblanca.
Remove the oversized cork, which is quite satisfactory and easy too.
The smell is wonderful, just as you would want a newly opened bottle of olive oil to be!
The outpouring of vibrant yellow-green is delicious and enticing.
The first big slurp rushes memories of an oil we haven't had in 10 years! Light and olivey, round, buttery on top, then finishing with a pencil tip of delightful bitterness high in the cheeks. Followed by a strong tickle of sharpness that only a newly harvested oil can deliver!
Don’t be tricked, as I was. Delicate sips reveal sophisticated hints of olive, avocado, and artichoke with a lightness of being. But if you venture into a big gulp and a backward thrust of the oil into your throat, you'll get a big surprise!
Hidden amongst all the light, friendly appearance is a powerful punch of high-powered zing — a super burn that declares this oil is alive!
The experts were telling us that the olive oil would be extremely mellow (read: not good) this year. Almost boring. We have not found this to be the case at all.
Every new oil we have tried has been wonderful. Each one unique and full of personality. If there is a mellowness they all share on first taste, it is the follow-through in subsequent tastes that makes you realize how wonderful and versatile this year's crop is.
This might be the first year where every oil I've tasted has been wonderfully appealing and versatile enough to accompany any dish, from fresh toast to robust pasta! Fabulous!
And this Nunez de Prado is like a homecoming and a new friend all rolled into one! What fun to have this special, wonderful olive oil back in our lives!