In March 2022, I attended the International Olive Oil Exposition in Madrid. Upon arrival at the Madrid Barajas Airport, our group of international olive oil merchants was promptly transferred to Atocha, the main railroad station, to board a high-speed train to the southern city of Córdoba. We spent the evening dining and attending a Flamenco performance before retiring for the night. The next morning, we boarded a bus to the town of Baena. This 45-minute ride carried us into the heart of the world’s most abundant olive-growing region, where we would visit two distinctly different producers of extra virgin olive oil.
Our first stop was a large cooperative industrial facility. Here, numerous local olive farms of various sizes send their olive fruit for milling, with the oil sold on the world commodity market to supply a vast array of end users. These merchants’ primary objective is efficiency– sourcing Iberian products at the lowest cost for distribution to many countries. Clearly, a more industrial resource for the global, mass-market needs.
Next, we rode a short distance to a nearby family-owned olive farm, Cortijo de Suerte Alta. We toured their mill (certified organic since 1996) and tasted their bold, fruity, early-harvest oil. I became engaged in a deep conversation with Manuel Heredia Halcón, the visionary behind the mill, which is built into a hillside, shaded by jasmine flowers that protect from the intense summer heat. The mill’s equipment is powered by solar panels, which efficiently and safely produce and store their crops beneath the earth’s surface at the proper temperature each season. This modern mill produces olive oil that is consistently fresh, fruity, intense, and free of defects.
After years of intense drought throughout the Andalusian region that drastically reduced olive yields, the autumn harvest of 2024 was abundant once again. I was determined to obtain bottles of Cortijo de Suerte Alta for our shelves at Liberty Heights Fresh. I traveled to Baena in early November and stayed with the Heredia Halcón family at their farmhouse. We spent each day in the groves and the mill, assessing the proper ripeness from their three main varieties to obtain the perfect balance of flavor, texture, polyphenol content, and yield. Every precaution is taken to protect the oil from light, heat, and oxygen (the three elements that will compromise the integrity of what I consider nature’s healthiest elixir).
Many of the trees were planted by Manuel’s great-grandfather in the early 20th century, with three trunks growing close together, each a distinct individual cultivar of Picudo, Picual, and Hojiblanca. Each variety is grown for its superbly intense flavor, and when blended together, creates a Coupage of these abundant fruits.
We are currently offering Cortijo de Suerte Alta’s extra virgin olive oils in three forms: the Coupage (Picudo, Picual, and Hojiblanca blend), a single-varietal Picual, and the Marqués de Prado blend of Arbequina and Picual. Come in for a taste and discover the richness of Andalusia’s olive bounty that is only available at Liberty Heights Fresh.
Always eat well!
Steven Rosenberg, Founder
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