OLV Organic Extra virgin olive oil

Organic olive oil often automatically falls into a higher price category. Remarkably, that is not the case with OLV.

And that is what makes this bottle interesting. Not only for someone specifically choosing organic, but also for anyone looking for a good everyday extra virgin olive oil without having to economically justify every pour.

Dress the salad generously. Give the vegetables another splash. And the pan too. Good olive oil is ultimately made to be used.

OLV comes from the Sierra de Alcaraz in the province of Albacete, in Castilla-La Mancha. A rugged, green landscape that looks very different from the endless plains many people automatically associate with Spanish olive cultivation.

The producer is based in an area of particular ecological importance, surrounded by several protected natural areas.

That fits OLV perfectly. Not an organic leaf on the label that has little connection with its surroundings, but an organic olive oil from a landscape where nature and agriculture quite literally exist side by side.

The current OLV is made from two of Spain's best-known olive cultivars: Picual and Arbequina.

Picual can bring structure, green aromas and pepperiness. Arbequina is known for its softer, fruitier style.

Together they do not create an extremely powerful oil here, but rather an approachable blend in which Picual's green character is rounded by the softness of Arbequina. That is exactly why OLV is so easy to use every day.

There can be many good reasons for a higher olive-oil price: extremely early harvesting, very low yield, manual selection, tiny plots or expensive packaging.

But that does not mean every good extra virgin olive oil automatically has to be expensive. OLV clearly takes a different position: certified organic production and good everyday quality at a very accessible price.

It may therefore be less spectacular than some of the hand-numbered flagship oils in our range. But on the kitchen counter it has a completely different advantage: there is no need to be stingy with it.

Behind OLV is Agropecuaria Ecológica Sierra de Alcaraz – AESA, a Spanish producer specialising in organic extra virgin olive oil.

Its modern mill is located along the Vía Verde de la Sierra de Alcaraz. From this environment, AESA produces several organic olive oils, ranging from more expressive premium selections to this much more approachable OLV.

OLV is deliberately the gentle, broadly useful option. Organic without making things complicated.

OLV has received various distinctions over the years. At BIOFACH 2018 in Nuremberg, the olive oil even finished high among a large international field of organic extra virgin olive oils.

Nice for the history of the bottle, but not the main reason we sell it. That reason is much simpler: it remains a surprisingly good organic olive oil for the price.

Anyone looking for the most intense, complex or peppery olive oil in our range will probably end up with another bottle.

But if you want an affordable organic extra virgin olive oil that is gentle enough for the whole family and versatile enough for everyday use, OLV is an especially sensible choice.

Picual and Arbequina sit almost at opposite ends of Spain's flavour spectrum. That is precisely why they can work so well together: structure alongside softness, green alongside fruity.

You can discover both cultivars separately in the Olijfolie Academie.