Organoleptic Characteristics

Arcaverde oil, made from the Spezzanese cultivar, has a definite scent of newly cut grass, as well as of artichoke and almond. The color is green with yellow-gold highlights and the taste -- rich with herbal tones -- produces an initial sweet note followed by well balanced bitter and peppery tones. It stays fluid on the palate, thanks to its good oleic acid content and a high saturated/unsaturated acid ratio. These characteristics are not common in oils from Calabria.

The Spezzanese Cultivar

This is an ancient and rare local cultivar which almost died out, partly because of the many fires that have ravaged the area. Up until a few years ago there were only a few Spezzanese trees left, 80 of which were on our land, and the cultivar survived only as a memory in the minds of a few very old pruners. Therefore, made curious by the diversity of these trees compared to other local cultivars, and encouraged by the excellent quality of its oil, we contacted the ISR, which undertook the DNA analysis of some of our Spezzanese mother trees. This analysis made it possible for us to define the "Spezzanese" cultivar as an ancient genotype, non synonymous with any other known cultivar, but a truly unique indigenous cultivar. The Spezzanese cultivar is now a "new accession", protected within the Italian National Collection for the Preservation of Olive Biodiversity, situated in Mirto (Cosenza) and overseen by the ISR in Rende (Province of Cosenza).

Preliminary morphological, phonological and agronomical observations carried out by the ISR have brought to light the distinct characteristics and potentials of this old genotype. In 2002 we planted two Spezzanese olive groves, using 700 cuttings from our old trees, grafted onto wild trees. These groves are on lands we own in the township of Cerchiara di Calabria, at an altitude of about 600 meters. Another 500 new little trees of this variety will be planted in 2010 to further increase our production of this variety of oil.

OIL ANALYSIS ARCAVERDE JANUARY 2009 (ITA)

OIL ANALYSIS ARCAVERDE JANUARY 2008 (ITA)