Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Australian Extra Virgin olive oil - Nullamunjie olive groves are situated on the lower slopes of Mount Stawell on the banks of the Tambo River at Tongio. Tongio is the district between Swift?s Creek and Omeo in the mountains of eastern Victoria.

The climate here is very similar to that of Tuscany with hot summers and cold winters so the varieties of olives chosen were those traditionally grown in Tuscany - Frantoio, Correggiola and Leccino, with the graceful Pendolino used as a cross-pollinator.

The first grove of 600 Correggiola trees was planted in 1998, with further groves of Correggiola, Frantoio and Leccino planted in subsequent years to a total, to date, of just over 3,000 trees.

Besides a favourable climate, the soil here is excellent for growing and producing olive oil because, unlike most Australian soils used for agriculture, it contains rocks in abundance. The olive tree over the last millenia has perfected the art of extracting the minerals it needs from rocks - think of olive trees growing on bare stony hillsides in Greece and the Middle East! It is the presence of rock in the soil which is the greatest contributor to the beautiful flavour of Nullamunjie olive oil. As is well-known in vineyards, the soil - le terroir - defines the character of a wine, and so it does for olive oil also.

The trees are tended in accordance with organic principles without the use of any pesticides or herbicides, or artificial fertilizers.

The season begins with flowering in October/November and by the end of April the fruit is beginning to flush crimson and purple. Guageing when the fruit is sufficiently ripe to be picked is a matter for fine judgement as the skins can be purple/black on the outside but the fruit within can still be green. Picked too early and the oil can be too bitter, picked too late and the olive oil loses many of the lovely fresh flavours which are the joy of a new oil. The taste of fresh, new-season?s oil is a revelation to most people only familiar with the all too frequently flacid and elderly supermarket offerings. Unlike wine, olive oil loses flavour as it ages and ideally should be consumed within 18 months to two years from when the olives are harvested.

Nullamunjie is a true single estate olive oil, grown, pressed and bottled on the estate. The olives are taken fresh from the grove to the press and processed within hours of being plucked from the tree. Nullamunjie Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a robustly fruity oil with excellent complexity of flavours and length of pepper, and a beautiful herbaceous aroma. As with all olive oils classified as extra virgin, acidity levels are less than 0.8%. In the case of Nullamunjie extra virgin olive oil considerably less, never having exceeded 0.2%.