Olive varieties: the complete guide
Not all extra virgin olive oils are alike. While terroir, climate, and the producer's expertise play an essential role, the olive variety used is one of the primary factors determining an oil's taste, aromas, and personality.
Across the Mediterranean basin, several hundred olive varieties are cultivated. Some produce sweet and delicate oils, while others develop more intensity, bitterness, or vegetal freshness. Each possesses its own aromatic identity and preferred culinary uses.
This guide brings together our articles dedicated to the main olive varieties. You will discover their origins, their flavor characteristics, and the specificities that make each terroir so rich.
The main olive varieties
Manzanilla Cacereña: the complete guide to this rare olive variety from Spain
Discover the history, origin, characteristics, and peculiarities of this iconic variety from the Sierra de Gata.
Manzanilla Cacereña Olive Oil: aromatic profile, taste, and uses
An immersion into the aromas, balance, and best culinary pairings of this exceptional variety.
Arbequina: a sweet and fruity olive oil
Originating from Catalonia, Arbequina seduces with its sweetness, roundness, and notes of almond and ripe fruit.
(article coming soon)
Picual: the iconic variety of Andalusia
Powerful, vegetal, and naturally rich in polyphenols, Picual is one of the most widely cultivated varieties in the world.
(article coming soon)
Hojiblanca: an elegant oil with vegetal notes
A balanced variety, appreciated for its freshness, slight bitterness, and aromas of fresh grass.
(article coming soon)
Cornicabra: a variety with character
Originating from central Spain, Cornicabra offers intense, persistent, and particularly stable oils.
(article coming soon)
Koroneiki: the Greek benchmark
The great Greek variety, renowned for its aromatic richness and natural concentration of antioxidants.
(article coming soon)
How to choose an olive variety according to your taste?
Discover the main differences between the major Mediterranean varieties and find the one that best suits your cooking.
(article coming soon)
Comparison of the main olive varieties
Arbequina, Picual, Hojiblanca, Cornicabra, Manzanilla Cacereña, Koroneiki… A comparison table to understand their aromatic profiles and uses.
(article coming soon)
Key takeaway: what distinguishes one olive variety from another
Not all olive oils are alike, because not all olives are identical. Just like a grape variety for wine or an apple variety for fruit, each olive variety has its own identity.
A variety naturally influences the oil's aromatic profile: some develop intense vegetal notes, while others have softer, fruitier, or slightly spicy flavors.
It also determines the richness in polyphenols, the balance between bitterness and pungency, the stability of the oil over time, as well as its culinary uses.
However, a variety only fully expresses its potential when grown in its native terroir. Climate, soil, altitude, and the expertise of the producers play an essential role in expressing its character.
Finally, there is no "best" olive variety in absolute terms. Each has its own personality, history, and qualities. It is the harmony between the variety, the terroir, and the producer's work that gives birth to a great olive oil.
To understand olive varieties is to understand why each oil possesses its own unique aromatic identity.
Our commitment
At Casa Montero y Bianchi, we have chosen to dedicate our entire production to a single variety: the Manzanilla Cacereña.
Less well-known than other major Spanish varieties, it is nonetheless recognized for the finesse of its aromas, its natural balance, and its remarkable ability to express the nuances of its terroir. Its character convinced us long before it was brought to light by international competitions.
Rather than seeking standardization, we have chosen to reveal all the richness of a niche variety that has been cultivated for generations in the Sierra de Gata. Depending on the harvest stage, it gives birth to two complementary expressions: a green, lively, and vegetal fruitiness, and a ripe, rounder, and more indulgent one.
Our ambition is not to produce every olive oil. It is to share everything that a single variety, when cultivated with high standards in its native terroir, is capable of expressing.
Because behind every great olive oil lies, first, a variety and its terroir, and finally, the hands of those who cultivate it.
