The surroundings: climate, ground, height, situation
In the boundaries of the former kingdom of Granada, in the very same line of Jaen and guarded by two provinces, three sierras and three natural parks, we produce our oil in the Cortijo and Pago del Juncal in Guadahortuna, in the heights of the interior of Granada.
In spite of being placed in this privileged location, crossroads of influences, it is not an easy environment for the olive tree. Limestone lands to 1,000 m. of height are subdued to an extreme continental climate. This is a small area of that strange but real Andalusia which struggles against the ice as a kind of North in the South.
The cold in winter is very intense and falls over the water course of the brook Juncal, gathering there a completely static icy air that burns the vegetation. Olive trees must be avoided in low areas, and they must be sheltered in the soft slopes around the brook. After overcoming these nights of frost, olive trees suffer abruptly short but hot summers, where the sun, the haze and the drought almost erase the landscape.
Values provided to the quality of the oil
It is quite a hostile climate where years with more than sixty nights of frost are usual, and temperatures below -15º C (5º F) are not uncommon. Our olive trees struggle and survive to only one step of the disaster, facing their own limits…
They sprout later, bloom later and their fruits ripen later, but the ices shorten the productive cycle at the beginning of November, when in other producing areas it is still hot. This obliges to an early harvest. The plant has to grow up and produce fruits in a very short period of time. Our olive trees are subdued to a constant effort, being this one of their singularities. The result of such difficulties and efforts, although affects the production in terms of quantity, makes its fruit, never guaranteed, being of an exceptional and strongly personal quality.
