A Saving Grace the Cream of the 2017 Tuscan Olive Oil Harvest
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ISSUE NO. 327 Spring 2018 Edition: The Great Olive Oils of Tuscany PUBLISHED SINCE 1992 A Saving Grace The Cream of the 2017 Tuscan Olive Oil Harvest or the second year in a row, the best Tuscan olive grow - high temperatures and no rain, an autumn cool snap Fers battled adversity, only to emerge the victors. In the endowed the surviving olives with classically expressive closing weeks, they were saved by a beneficent Mother aromas. And one benefit of a very hot mid-summer was Nature, who gave them a tiny crop of rich and aromatic oil. that it killed all the mosca (olive flies) that have plagued Production wasn’t just down. It was down a lot. Most Tuscany in recent years. estates only made 40 to 60 percent of their normal pro - So, after all the difficulties of the growing season, and duction, while some estates (like Cogno) made no oil at despite very limited quantities, we’re extremely happy all. The villain was the very hot, windy weather during with the 2017 oils we’ve chosen. We also expect them to flowering in May, with the wind blowing many of the contrast sharply with 2017 oils you’ll find from other buds and flowers to the ground. sources. (Less scrupulous growers than ours resorted to The summer was also dry, as it has been in recent buying oil from non-estate sources to supplement their years. Nonetheless, the old trees on the best estates meager production.) flourished. Their olives were unusually small (with a Once again, we can offer our own special selections high concentration of oil and very little water inside) from vaunted producers like Rufina’s Grati family, Valerie which led to highly concentrated oil. A handful of Ronconi at Melograno, Selvapiana, Pruneti, Castello di estates made some of their best oil in years. Volpaia and, of course, the great Giorgio Franci. Our line - The key to the year’s aromatic quality was cooler up is literally a “who’s who” of top Tuscan oil producers. weather arriving in September. After four months of Each oil was personally selected by us on the ground a www.rarewineco.com | [email protected] | 415-319-9000 — 1 — SCARCITY & SPLENDOR continued from page 1 Our Guarantee of Quality & Authenticity a in Tuscany in November. And in many cases our press - ings are available nowhere else in the world. They are as Every oil in this year’s offer has been vetted to represent good as 2017 Tuscan oil can possibly get. the best of the 2017 Tuscan harvest. We chose carefully, and And because we buy directly from the growers and in we chose well. large volumes, our prices are a fraction of what other sources Few other American oil merchants go to the expense of charge for often inferior oils. Every bottle is shipped in our being in Tuscany during the harvest. As a result, they sell own temperature-controlled container directly from Tuscany whatever blends the producers choose to give them. to our Bay Area temperature-controlled warehouse. We always urge caution if you choose to buy elsewhere. And it’s especially important in a year like this, with such a How we do it small crop and such challenging conditions. As we’ve done for more than two decades, in early Countless producers hit hard by the drought and the November we spent several 14-hour days in Tuscany tasting year’s poor flowering have had to buy oil from other produc - through scores of oils at numerous estates. This is a ritual ers —even from outside their region —so they can have we’ve been loyal to since 1995. It enables us to hand-select something to sell. Their oil may be decent, but it may not all the very best pressings, often from single olive groves. be theirs. Unless you know and trust your source, you should The oils we selected this year promise to be the most take claims of greatness with a healthy dose of skepticism. exciting available anywhere, and they have now arrived. It is Even in the most abundant of years very few oils that your best chance of the year to stock up on the world’s reach the US are in fact entirely estate-grown. Blending greatest—yet most fairly priced—olive oils. from multiple properties is common, as is the practice of buying outside oil to bolster stocks. But since 1995, The Salvation Rare Wine Co. has not only sold only 100% estate-grown By the end of August, things did not look good for the olive oils, but many of our oils are selected from individual groves. crop. Rain was needed, and so was some cool weather to assist Locking Up the Best in aromatic development. The needed rain thankfully came in September, and the cooler weather arrived in late October. We learned long ago that there’s no substitute for being there While there are some notable exceptions, most of the best oils and choosing our own oils before the producers make up their were pressed at the very end of October or in early November. blends. For those growers who were willing to wait, a small crop of Not only do we get the best; we avoid the homogenizing mostly green, concentrated and aromatic olives could be harvested effect of combining two months’ pressings. and pressed. Many growers who picked too early made oil that With good reason, wine and food writers have consistently was bitter and lacking classic Tuscan aromatic complexity. praised The Rare Wine Co.’s Tuscan oils as the best, and most One downside to the tiny crop was few growers had the lux - fairly-priced, available. And it will never be more true than in ury of harvesting by olive variety. Virtually all harvested by olive the coming months. grove, each containing trees of multiple varieties. Consquently sin - On the pages that follow, you will find our selections. Each gle-varietal oils are rare in 2017. The exceptions are Franci’s beauti - oil captures the beauty and nobility of Tuscany’s ancient olive ful Olivastra Seggianese; Melograno’s pure Frantoio; and Pruneti’s oil-making tradition. These are very exciting olive oils: buy them pair of brilliant mono-varietals from Frantoio and Moraiolo. with the knowledge that you are buying the year’s very best. www.rarewineco.com | [email protected] | 415-319-9000 — 2 — Summary of this Year’s Offers 12-bottle Explorer Case 6-bottle Explorer Case Twelve of our greatest oils. See pages 4, 5 & 6 for details. Sold Out $279.50 reg. $323.49 buy (Available only in The Mother Lode) Franci Pruneti Il Poggione 3-Pack 2-Pack 3-Pack Villa Magra, Frantoio & Three one-liter bottles Villa Magra Grand Cru, Moraiolo See Page 10 for details. & Olivastra Seggianese See Page 8 See Page 7 for details. for details. $98.00 Sold Out buy (Available only in The Mother Lode) $49.95 reg. $54.90 buy Melograno Carnasciale Vetrice 2-Pack See Page 9 for details. See Page 9 for details. Frantoio & Misto See Page 11 for details. $34.95 bt. $25.95 bt. $49.95 reg. $54.90 buy buy buy And for the Passionate Oil Lover ... The Mother Lode One x 12-bt Explorer Case l Two x 6-bt Explorer Cases One x Franci 3-Pack l One x Pruneti 2-pack l One Il Poggione 3-Pack + 2 bonus bottles of Franci Grand Cru l A total of 34 bottles Mother Lode Price: $745.00 l Reg. Price: $951.00 www.rarewineco.com | [email protected] | 415-319-9000 — 3 — The Assortments Two 2017 Tuscan Oil Samplers for your Pantry s our regular olive oil buyers have learned, the best two, three, four or even five dozen bottles over the course of way to assure yourself of phenomenal olive oil twelve months. Athroughout the year is to stock up in the spring. You’ll As a basic purchase, we recommend the 12-bottle Tuscan want to buy enough to at least last you through 2018, mak - Explorer Case, which allows you to enjoy one of our unique ing sure that you have a few bottles to spare for gifts to friends. selections each month for the year. If you think your appetite Most customers can easily go through a case in a year, for great oil is less than that, you can go with the 6-bottle since that’s just one bottle a month. Others will go through case. Either case is as useful as it is exciting. Sampler No. 1: 12-bottle Sampler No. 2: 6-bottle Tuscan Explorer Case Tuscan Explorer Case Read about the individual oils on pages 5 & 6. 1. Selvapiana Vasca #2 1. Selvapiana Vasca #2 2. Vetrice Vasca #34 2. Vetrice Vasca #34 3. Colognole Montegiovi Vasca #31 3. Colognole Montegiovi Vasca #31 4. Il Giardino Vasca #2 4. Il Giardino Vasca #2 5. Frascole 5. Frascole 6. Castello di Volpaia 6. Castello di Volpaia 7. Melograno Frantoio 8. Melograno Misto Sold Out 9. Franci Villa Magra 10. Franci Olivastra Seggianese 11. Pruneti Moraiolo Vasca #49 Read about the oils 12. Pruneti Frantoio Vasca #15 in these sets on pages 5 & 6 $279.50 reg. $323.49 buy To place your order online, click here. www.rarewineco.com | [email protected] | 415-319-9000 — 4 — The Oils What you’ll find in this year’s 12- bottle assortment 1. Selvapiana Vasca #2 4. Il Giardino Vasca #2 (Rufina) (Rufina) A quintessential extra virgin from this leg - Organic and unfiltered, a blend of Frantoio, endary Rufina producer.