On the gentle slope of the Cappuccini hill stretches an olive grove that has been cultivated through the centuries. It preserves the ancient promiscuous cultivation system: the distance between the various rows is much greater than the standard of modern olive groves, as in the past the space between one row and the other was used for sowing and vegetable gardens. Furthermore, some rows “hide” a row of vines, the trunks of the olive trees intersperse and support the vines which, in some cases, are still “married”, which means they are supported not by stakes and wires but by live plants such as Nocione, Testucchio or Acero Campestre trees, whose branches are bent and made to grow horizontally.
It is a system that dates back to the Etruscan era, was widespread until a few decades ago and has now practically disappeared.
Promiscuous cultivation would be considered highly inefficient by the standards of modern mechanized agriculture but at Le Meridiane these last traces are jealously preserved as a precious witness of ancient peasant knowledge.
Our olive trees are never sprayed with chemicals or fertilizers. The only treatment done is pruning.
The mixture of olive trees from the Leccino, Frantoio, Moraiolo and Pendolino varieties is the basis of the particularly harmonious taste of this olive oil.
Once the right point of ripeness has been reached, generally in the month of November, the olives are harvested by hand using special rakes and nets and taken to the mill to be pressed in the shortest possible time in order to maintain the characteristic fruity aroma.
The olives are pressed in the Etruscan Oil Mill of Murlo, where the extra virgin oil is extracted exclusively through mechanical processes.
Only after passing rigorous chemical-physical laboratory tests and organoleptic tests, it is bottled with the Toscano IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) brand.
The Consortium for the protection of Tuscan “IGP” Extra Virgin Olive Oil guarantees the authenticity of the oil which, from the olive grove to the mill, up to bottling, must be produced within the territorial borders of Tuscany. In addition to the origin, the Consortium guarantees the qualitative and organoleptic identity of the product.
For each batch the following tests are carried out:
- chemical-physical analyses, to verify the low acidity and peroxide level, the high polyphenol and tocopherol content, the fatty acid composition which highlights a predominant presence of oleic acid (monounsaturated) and polyunsaturated fatty acids;
- organoleptic analyses carried out by official panels recognized by the Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. The organoleptic characteristics range from the green colour, whose chromatic variation can occur over time, taking on different shades tending towards golden yellow, to the harmonious taste and fruity aroma characterized by hints of artichoke, thistle, freshly cut grass and almond mixed with bitter and spicy notes.
