December 2024

We Love Our Olive Oils

We love that zingy taste of the first pressing of Reschio’s olives; the vibrant green that enlivens bruschetta before a lazy lunch in the autumn sunshine. So highly prized, we now have three different categories of Reschio Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

N.1 Gagliardo - a blend of four varieties of olives, bottled in its purest form, directly from the mill. It is characterised by a distinctive explosion of bitterness and spiciness inherent in freshly crushed olives. It is only available 2 or 3 months after harvest.

N.2 Clemente – a blend of Dolce Agogia and Leccino olives - The initial bitterness fades slowly into a great balance with peppery notes and the aftertaste is delicate, clean and extremely elegant.

N. 3 Vetusto – comprises three olive varieties and, at first it is a delicate taste that grows and becomes powerful and intense. The aftertaste is elegant, balsamic and very dry, a perfect companion to strongly flavoured dishes.

As detailed in Rizzoli’s book, Reschio The First Thousand Years, our 1.650 Dolce Agogia olive trees are greatly treasured and dominate the oldest grove on the estate. Their oil is in every bottle. It is a variety unique to Umbria, found from Perugia to the Upper Tiber Valley and around Lake Trasimeno. When, in 1956, Italy was blanketed in snow, the extreme conditions decimated most of the region’s olive trees, except the Dolce Agogia.

We have 4,000 olive trees on the estate and constantly add to the existing groves with varieties typical of the region – Leccino, Frantoio, Moraiolo and Borgiona. The Dolce Agogia count for 37% of the trees and, “... together with the manner of their cultivation and management, are part of an inheritance that includes old ways of doing things as well as old things themselves. The trees are as significant a part of Reschio’s patrimony as the great castle itself and their value is likewise cultural as much as it is commercial.” explains writer Steve King in our book.

Come and taste our Reschio Oil, we are sure that you will love it too.