LOCATION AND CLIMATE

 

As you might expect, olives grown in cooler areas where there is more moisture (rainfall and dew) exhibit leaner, more restrained characteristics.  This doesn’t however mean that great oil can now be made in Iceland – you need a minimum amount of sunshine to make your Extra Virgin Olive Oil taste remarkable, similarly to tomatoes or stone fruit.

Olive trees are sensitive to winter freeze (the Casaliva cultivar is more resistant to cold, hence being grown in the Garda region).  It is also easier to farm organically where the climate is more stable and less chemical sprays are required to keep the trees healthy.

OLIVE MATURITY

 

Here’s the thing – all olives are green.  When they become fully mature, they turn black.
Olive maturity at the time of harvest is a major factor in flavour and quality: olives harvested earlier (green olives) feature more bitter, grassy characteristics, with lower yields and with the highest anti-oxidant content.  The oil is a much more intense green colour and has a longer shelf-life.  In terms of production, milling can take longer with green olives (a longer malaxation - the action of slowly churning milled olives to release droplets of oil - is needed and can be more complicated) but the results are far superior!  Don’t choose olive oil from over mature fruit: it lacks all the potential goodness and flavour.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN GROVE AND MILL

 

People who care passionately about what they make and follow it personally every day have the capacity to create products with far higher quality, with integrity, and that taste of where they come from.  They are also able to do this by caring for the environment they inhabit.

FRANTOIO DI RIVA BOX

This box contains 6 bottles of extra virgin olive oil made exclusively by Frantoio di Riva from groves on the banks of lake Garda.

Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO green label x 3 bottles (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO organic white label x 1 bottle (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, 46°PARALLELO blue label x 1 bottle (50cl)
Frantoio di Riva, ULIVA Garda Trentino DOP x 1 bottle (50cl)

Frantoi - Franci
Frantoi - Franci
Frantoi - Franci
Frantoi - Franci
Frantoi - Franci
Frantoio Franci, Tuscany

Montenero d’Orcia is a tiny hilltop hamlet in Southern Tuscany in the foothills of beautiful and arresting Mt. Amiata. This is the home of Frantoio Franci, founded in 1958 by Franco and Fernando Franci when they purchased the Villa Magra property and converted the old barn in to a mill. Fernando is still very present in the business and greets me personally each time I visit – you can see how much this family cares about their business. Since 1995, Giorgio Franci has been leading the company forwards and it is his art that attracted us most to the olive oils of Frantoio Franci. Giorgio is without doubt one of the most acclaimed names in Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the World. He is an incredibly skilled blender and is thoroughly committed to making high quality olive oil and to raising the top end of this industry to success.

Frantoi - Franci

We lived in Montalcino for a couple of years and were fortunate enough to get to know Giorgio Franci’s oils during that time. They are majestic in style, with all of the Tuscan characteristics you would expect: medium to highly fruity, complex, fabulously bitter, perfect companions to pork and beef in particular as well as a wide range of soups, pulses, savoury cakes, porcini mushrooms and of course pasta and grains.

The Franci family farm 65ha of Olive groves around Montenero and this includes 5 different cultivars. Frantoio, a high vigour cultivar that has a fairly low oil yield and gives an elegant, balanced, bitter and spicy oil. Moraiolo, a low vigour, incredibly limited volume cultivar that is resistant to detach from the tree and very sensitive to the cold. It gives a bitter, spicy olive oil rich in antioxidants and polyphenols. Leccino, which has high resistance to disease and a fresher, lightly fruity and slightly herbaceous character. Olivastra Seggianese, a local cultivar that features rose petal, exotic spice and has a fragrant balsamic finish. And finally Correggiolo originating from the area around Florence, which ripens late and gives a decisive peppery, elegant and complex character with a rich spicy finish.

Olive Oil seems such a way of life in Tuscany, everybody seems to have a family member or friend who produces their own and of course they therefore feel this is the absolute best. Amazing then to think that just 3% of total Italian Olive Oil production comes from this region. We have tasted widely – and the general level from Tuscany is high, however there are few producers of total excellence and at the very top of this in terms of style and philosophy is Franci. If you choose these oils, you know you are getting the real deal.

Frantoi - Franci
Frantoi - Franci
Frantoi Franci Olivastra Seggianese Rose
OLIVASTRA SEGGIANESE ROSE
Rose grand cru is a selection of Olivastra Seggianese olives from a single grove of century old trees on Giorgio Franci's land. Super limited production, this incredible oil has a scent clearly characterised by notes of rose. It's excellent on oysters, over prawns and also with Southern Mediterranean or middle eastern flavours.

Frantoio Franci

OLIVASTRA SEGGIANESE ROSE
Frantoi - Franci
LE TREBBIANE
Super fine aromas with moderate spice, Le Trebbiane is from a single olive grove that faces East, receiving the cooler morning sunshine. Classic blend of Frantoio, Moraiolo and Leccino with a tiny percentage of Olivastra it features complex, herbaceous aromas of artichoke and fresh blossom with a good peppery persistence. Ideal over tuna fish, or over a broad selection of soups and sheep cheeses.

Frantoio Franci

LE TREBBIANE
Frantoi Franci Villa Magra
VILLA MAGRA GRAND CRU
Villa Magra Grand Cru is 100% Frantoio from a single grove. A striking aroma of artichoke, cardoon and green almond with hints of cherry blossom lead to a complex and decisive palate full of spice and a high level of polyphenols. Great with lightly grilled red meat, pulses and fully flavoured cheeses. A near perfect pair with mushrooms, particularly porcini.

Frantoio Franci

VILLA MAGRA GRAND CRU
Frantoi - Franci
VILLA MAGRA
This blend of Frantoio, Moraiolo and Leccino comes from the land surrounding the mill in Montenero d’Orcia. It is intensely flavoured: grassy, complex and bitter with elegant richness. Perfect for blue fish, meat sauces, root vegetables, roasts and also on bruschetta.

Frantoio Franci

VILLA MAGRA