And in our view, and the view of many, the world’s greatest olive oils come from Tuscany.

Yet making great olive oil requires an obsessive attention to detail. It results from an ideal terroir, low yields and harvesting at a point of perfect underripeness, before the olives turn from green to black. Even in Tuscany, such care and expense is beyond most producers. And so most Tuscan olive oils fall far short of greatness.

Just as subtle differences in grape source and vinification can profoundly influence the quality of a wine, there are factors that separate great olive oils from merely good ones. Here are the most important of them:

Microclimate. While olive oil is produced throughout the Mediterranean, many feel that the greatest oils of all are produced in Tuscany’s interior hills—from old trees in poor soil and cool microclimates.

Ripeness. The best Tuscan olive oils are “early harvest”— in other words they are made from physiologically mature olives that have not yet turned to black. Typically, such olives can be picked between late October and mid-November, producing oil with green color and intense flavors of artichoke and freshly cut grass.

Early-harvest oils also have extraordinary structure—plus the ability to withstand the four enemies of olive oil: age, heat, light and air. In fact, a good early-harvest oil , if properly stored, can keep for two or more years with ease. In contrast, most commercially available olive oils (including many expensive ones) already show noticeable deterioration six months after the harvest.

The explanation is that early-harvest olives have substantially more tannins which, as in wine, retard oxidation. Consequently, Tuscan olive oils that have a greenish color hold up much better after opening, maintaining their fresh aromas and flavors.

So why not harvest all the olives early and produce only great oil? It’s very labor-intensive, costly and slow. Early picking also produces much less oil from the same weight of olives. Our growers often obtain only one to two liters of olive oil per tree; the big commercial olive oil producers, who harvest in January or February, can get ten or more times that amount from a single tree.

Method of Extraction. For most top-quality producers, the xtraction method of choice begins when the newly harvested olives are ground into a paste. The paste is then gently pressed to extract oil and water, with the water separated off either by ravity or by using a centrifuge. No chemicals or heat are used. It is also crucial that the fruit arrive at the frantoio (press house) speedily and unbruised. Otherwise, the olives will oxidize and develop a high level of oleic acid.

The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) has adopted oleic acid as a standard measure of quality; a high percentage indicates overripeness, damage or that olives have sat around too long before pressing. The IOOC permits the “Extra Virgin” label only if an oil has less than one gram of free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, per 100 grams of oil (1 percent).

In fact, top Tuscan oils have a fraction of the permitted level of oleic acid. This is due to their early harvest and the great care that goes into making them.

Filtering. Most producers filter their oil, so they don’t have to explain to customers why there is sediment in the bottle, or why the oil is not crystal clear. Filtering also allows them to be less concerned with how the oil is stored and transported. But, as with wine, filtering can reduce the oil’s richness of texture. We prefer to buy oils that are settled by gravity and not filtered.

Age. Top Tuscan oils have a window of optimal usability that is far greater than for other olive oils. During the first year of their lives, they are intensely flavored, with the peppery finish that Tuscans prize. As time goes on, they mellow, but if well-stored, will continue to offer exceptional flavor and aromatics.

Our Labor of Love. Beginning in 1995, The Rare Wine Co. began importing its own olive oil selections. Each November, we taste on site, before the oils are blended—selecting pressings that offer the most character, structure and balance. We also have the trade’s strictest standards: offering only single-estate oils; providing clear and informative labels; shipping under strict temperature control and offering the new oils as soon as they are pressed, settled and bottled.

If we’ve become America’s best source for Tuscan olive oil, these are the reasons why.

	The oils:
	Monte, Prunatelli & Vetrice. Rufina
	Podere Cogno. Castellina in Chianti
	Il Melograno. Chianti Classico
	Il Poggione. San Angelo in Colle (Montalcino)
	Frantoio Franci. Montenero d’ Orcia
	Il Carnasciale. Mercatale Valdarno
	Selvapiana. Rufina