Extra Virgin Olive Oil Hacienda La Laguna de Jaén Arbequina

This is the olive oil from Spain that has made the biggest impression in recent years. It marks a radical shift from the typical oils of the area: being based on the arbequina varietal of the olive in a land where the picual variety reigns – whether alone or, as is occasionally encountered, in combination with other olives – it blazes a new trail for research. Yet even now, nobody who has tasted it will deny that the arbequina variety has come to stay in Jaén and elsewhere. With its high impact in terms of bouquet, through its intensity and complexity, plant references stand out: tomato leaves, artichokes and freshly-mown grass. It is distinctly fruity on the palate, where those sensations return once more, though now joined by olive juice. Its delicacy and balance are striking in the extreme, with a barely perceptible bitterness, as with spicy products, and it has a dense body.Annual output runs to 120,000 litres. The oil is also sold in plastic 5-litre containers, at 20€.