Almazara Luis Herrera Aceite de Lagrima Olive Oil

Manzanilla and Cornicabra olives are picked from centenarian groves growing at over 2700 feet altitude. In this rare olive oil, the milled are milled, not pressed, using ancient granite stones and then bottled on the estate. The result is… Well, if you get caught up in describing the flavor you have to spill a lot of words.

Fragrant avocado, subtle earthiness, delicate vegetable, wafting grasses. Beautifully balanced. But what really gets me is the body, lofting off the tongue with the fluid agility of sparrows above a church steeple somewhere in the c, olivy, A style which uniquely combines ripe sweetness with delicate balance. Total production of Aceite de Lagrima in 2006 is 4,950 half-liter bottles.

From al-masara, the Arabic word for “olive press” is not pressed at all. Herrera uses three large conical granite stones to slowly crush the Manzanilla nd Cornicabra olives to a pulp, releasing the oil. The juice that runs free is collected and clarified through settling then decanted. Fruity front and spice at the end…