Marqués de Valdueza

The Álvarez de Toledo family has owned the Perales estate and has been producing olive oil for more than 500 years.

About 35 years ago, the current Marqués de Valdueza started an ambitious modernisation process and began to replace the old olive trees with Arbequina, Hojiblanca, Picual and Morisca varieties. The latter variety is only grown in a small area of Extremadura. It is a low-yielding olive that is expensive to use, but it is a source of smooth, persistent flavour that fills the mouth when tasted.

The mill, inaugurated in November 2004, was built on the site of a 150-year-old mill, which itself was erected in an oil-producing area that the Romans occupied 2,000 years ago. The land that now makes up the Marqués de Valdueza estate has been providing olive oil that was coveted by Caesars, sultans and kings uninterruptedly for two millennia. Innovation and research are a constant at the estate, both in the agricultural techniques, which are very respectful of the environment, and in the systems for harvesting and extracting the olive juice in the mill. When the new mill was completed in 2004, it was considered by national and international media to be one of the most modern in Europe.

Absolute control over the fields and the oil mill allows the family and their team to take all the necessary steps to pursue the excellence sought after and recognised by gastronomic critics, chefs and customers in the more than 30 countries where they sell their extra virgin olive oil.

Harvesting usually begins at the beginning of November. The olives are at their optimum moment of ripeness to obtain a juice with the marked, clean, complex and, above all, very balanced flavour that characterizes MARQUES DE VALDUEZA extra virgin olive oil.

Taste and Smell 

With a deep personality on the palate, it is soft at first and then surprises with a light bitterness that leads to a slightly more intense spiciness, creating a beautiful balance. Herbaceous notes predominate with woody notes, towards almond and green banana.

Fusion of aromas/flavors provided by the 4 great varieties (Hojiblanca, Arbequina, Picula and Morisca) that lend their profile to the creation of this product.

Nice anecdote: 

The Marquis Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Argüelles, owner of the estate, is a direct descendant of the Duke of Alva and named after his son.  
During a meeting between Nico van Donkelaar of De Olijfolie Shop and the Marquis, he became irritated while introducing himself. His agenda mistakenly contained an appointment with someone from Poland and not from Holland. After all, according to him, agreements with the Dutch made no sense. He was convinced that the Dutch and Belgians did not want to use his olive oil because his ancestor sometimes literally rolled a head on the Grand Place in Brussels and he made the life of 'our' William of Orange quite miserable. Ultimately, Nico is able to convince him that we don't see things so darkly. Certainly not after April 1, 1572 when his ancestor lost Den Briel to the Water Beggars.....