Les Garrigues PDO

Tasting notes

This is a full bodied oil, its fruitiness suggestive of either green or ripe olives depending on the timing of the harvest, and with clean, leafy herbal aromas, green almond and tomato flavors, and a slightly bitter, piquant finish. As the olives ripen, the color of the oil develops into a greenish yellow and its flavor becomes smoother and sweeter.

Other notes

Analytical Data:

- Acidity:  less than 0.5

- Humidity: no more than 0.1%

- Peroxide value: maximum 15 

- Impurities: no more than 0.1%

- K 270:  maximum 0.1

Production / Processing method

Planting generally follows a grid  pattern of 10 x 10 m (32.80 x 32.80 ft) squares, with density ranging from 100 to 120 trees per hectare (2.5 acres). Farming practices are those traditional to the growing area, designed to achieve oils of maximum quality. Harvesting is carried out by hand picking directly from the tree, and the olives are delivered to the mill on the day they are picked, ensuring that they are ground within 48 hours of harvesting. Vibrating equipment is also used, taking care to keep the fruit in the best possible condition.  The oil is extracted with mechanical and other physical means that preserve all the olives’ intrinsic characteristics.

Geography / Relief and climate

Topographically, the Les Garrigues district is accidented, with inclines of 15 to 25%, alternating with little valleys with terraced floors and hillsides whose summits are sometimes flat and suitable for cultivation, but often with approaches too steep for farming machinery. The Urgell district is less broken, and has extensive plains through which minor rivers run. The Segria region encompasses richly fertile land in the Segre river valley and part of the plateau system that borders it and separates it to the west from the river Cinca basin. Average altitude in the PDO area ranges from 400 to 600 m (1,312 – 1,804 ft) above sea level. The local climate is Mediterranean with Continental leanings. Daily and annual temperature variations are greater here than in the sea-influenced Mediterranean climate. Winters are very cold and summers very hot and dry. Average temperatures range from -2º C to 24º C (28.4º - 75.2º F). Rainfall is generally sparse and occurs mainly in Spring: annual figures vary from 350 mm to 450 mm (13.77 – 17.71 in), with relative humidity at 66%.

Regulatory Council

Consejo Regulador de la DOP Les Garrigues
Complex La Caparrella, 97
25192 Lleida (Cataluña)
Tel: (+34) 973 280 470
olidoplesgarrigues@olidoplesgarrigues.com
www.olidoplesgarrigues.com/

Sources:
 
- Spanish Ministry of Agriculture

- Regulatory Council, Les Garrigues PDO