Aceite Hacienda el Palo

El Palo Estate

Aceites Hacienda El Palo is an olive oil producing company located in Villargordo, in the province of Jaén, in the heart of the northern countryside of Jaén. Their oil mill is specifically located at Cortijo Villaconchita, from where they carry out a project closely linked to the olive grove and oriented towards achieving high-quality extra virgin olive oils.

The history of Hacienda El Palo dates back to 1941, accumulating more than eight decades of experience linked to olive oil. Throughout this time, the company has evolved by incorporating new technologies and production methods, while maintaining a philosophy based on knowledge of the land, care for the olives, and a constant pursuit of excellence.

Currently, Hacienda El Palo has become a recognized brand both inside and outside of Spain. The company markets its oils under different lines, among which Hacienda El Palo, Bravoleum, and Platero stand out, with Bravoleum being reserved especially for some of their most renowned premium and monovarietal EVOO. Their oils have won numerous awards in national and international competitions, consolidating the mill as one of the leading producers in the Jaén olive oil scene.

Picual and a wide selection of early harvest varieties

The Picual variety holds a fundamental place in the production at Hacienda El Palo. It is the iconic variety of Jaén and the star of a large portion of the oils marketed directly under the mill’s name. For its premium blends, green olives are selected and harvested early, seeking fruits with high aromatic intensity capable of producing fresh, complex oils with a distinct personality.

The Hacienda El Palo range, however, goes far beyond Picual. The mill also works with varieties such as Arbequina, Hojiblanca, and Nevadillo Blanco, in addition to producing organic Picual. Through its Bravoleum line, it also incorporates the Italian Frantoio variety, with which it usually begins its early harvest campaigns. This diversity allows for the production of different monovarietals and showcases the particular characteristics of each type of olive.

The timing of the harvest is one of the aspects that Hacienda El Palo takes special care with. For its premium EVOO, harvesting can begin at the beginning of October, when the olives are still green or in the early stages of ripening (envero). The goal is to prioritize quality over yield, as these early fruits provide a smaller quantity of oil but allow for sensory profiles of greater intensity and freshness.

Once harvested, the olives are quickly transported to the mill to begin processing. Production is carried out exclusively through mechanical procedures and cold extraction, with each stage controlled to preserve the fruit's natural qualities. The result is a collection of EVOOs that offers everything from the intensity and structure characteristic of the Picual to different profiles provided

Family estates in the Northern Countryside of Jaén

The origin of Hacienda El Palo oils lies in its family estates in Jaén, where the care of the olive trees begins many months before the arrival of the harvest. The company is located in Villargordo, within the northern countryside of the province, a territory where olive groves dominate much of the landscape and constitute one of the great pillars of agricultural activity.

The conditions in this area allow for the cultivation of different varieties and the selection of plots and olives based on the type of oil intended to be produced. Hacienda El Palo pays special attention to the development of the fruit throughout the agricultural cycle and has irrigated farms, a factor that takes on special importance during seasons characterized by high temperatures and low rainfall. The controlled availability of water helps to reduce water stress in the trees and makes it possible to obtain fruit suitable for their early-harvest productions.

The Hacienda El Palo olive grove is not limited solely to the Picual variety characteristic of Jaén. Their estates also include Frantoio, Arbequina, Hojiblanca, Nevadillo Blanco, and organic Picual trees, allowing the very diversity of the field to be subsequently transferred to the oil mill's collection of oils. Especially interesting is the Nevadillo Blanco, an indigenous variety of Jaén much less common than the Picual, which Hacienda El Palo maintains within its range of monovarietals.

The proximity between these olive groves and the Cortijo Villaconchita facilities allows for a direct connection between the work carried out throughout the year in the field and the production process. The selection of the fruit, the exact moment of harvesting, and the speed with which the olives reach the mill are essential factors for Hacienda El Palo. In this way, their oils are the result of a direct relationship between the olive grove, variety, territory, and oil mill, transferring part of the character of the Jaén countryside to each bottle.