Traditional harvest in the La Matilla olive grove: an olive grower leads a harnessed donkey between the olive trees

Mill and olive grove in Carmona The Estate La Matilla

More than forty hectares of olive grove on a gentle hill in the Carmona countryside. Cool soil, clear light and an oil that is born and made right here.

Analysed by the Instituto de la Grasa (CSIC)

Discover the estate

La Matilla archive

A gentle hill in the Carmona countryside

La Matilla lies in the heart of Andalusia, on a gentle hill in the Carmona countryside, at the gates of Seville. A land that has been devoted to the olive tree and its oil for centuries.

The soils of the estate are cool and sandy, just as the olive tree likes them: they let the roots breathe and hold just the right amount of moisture. The southern sun and the clear light of the countryside do the rest.

Here the olive grove is cared for as what it is: the origin of everything. We select the most productive trees with the finest fruit, and pick every olive at its optimum point of ripeness.

Twisted trunk of an olive tree on the estate, in black and white

Olive branches laden with olives, in black and white

+40 ha: of olive grove in the Carmona countryside, Seville.
Mill: of our own: the oil is made right here on the estate.
Arbequina: as our main variety, alongside Picual, Hojiblanca and Arbosana.
Pruning: returned to the earth as organic matter.

The first oil of the harvest

There is one moment each year that sums it all up: when the first oil of the season begins to flow. Green, intense, almost cloudy, with the aroma of freshly milled olives and that bitter, peppery edge that reveals its natural polyphenols.

Only a few hours pass between the branch and the mill, and the oil is cold-extracted. That way the fruit arrives whole and unbruised, and the oil keeps its aromas and its polyphenols.

See the process step by step

From the branch to the bottle

Six steps, always in the same order and never rushed. This is how extra virgin olive oil is made the traditional way.

Harvest
We harvest the olives with care to avoid bruising and preserve their quality.
Cleaning
We remove leaves and twigs and clean the olives before taking them to the mill.
Milling and malaxing
We crush the olives into a paste. Then we mix it gently so the tiny droplets of oil come together.
Pressing
We spread the paste onto mats known as capachos. Pressing separates the liquid from the solid remains.
Settling
We leave the liquid to rest so that the oil separates from the water and the sediment.
Bottling
We bottle the oil and protect it from light and heat to preserve its qualities.

Instituto de la Grasa · CSIC · Seville

The final word belongs to the laboratory

Before it reaches your table, our oil is analysed at the Instituto de la Grasa, the centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) devoted to the study of olive oil since 1947.

It is not a required step. We do it because we want everything we say about our oil to be confirmed by an independent laboratory, not just by our own palate.

Acidity: the freshness of the fruit and the care taken at the mill.
Peroxides: whether the oil has kept without oxidising.
UV absorbance: the purity and quality of the extra virgin oil.
Polyphenols: the olive’s natural antioxidants, which give the oil its bitterness and peppery bite.

A land that looks after itself

At La Matilla nothing goes to waste. The prunings from the olive trees return to the soil as organic matter, we respect the wild flora of the countryside, and a kitchen garden and an orange grove grow among the olive trees.

Prunings return to the earth
After each pruning, the olive branches are shredded and left in the grove itself. Over the months they turn into organic matter that returns nutrients to the soil, holds in moisture and shields the earth from the sun of the Carmona countryside. A closed cycle that begins and ends with the olive tree.
The wild flora of the countryside
Between the rows of olive trees we let the grass and wild flowers grow: daisies, poppies and native plants. This green cover slows erosion, keeps the soil alive and gives shelter to the insects and birds that are part of the olive grove’s natural balance.
Kitchen garden and orange blossom
The richness of the La Matilla land goes beyond the olive tree. On the estate grow an organic kitchen garden, an orange grove and other fruit trees. In spring, the scent of orange blossom fills the olive grove, a reminder that this is fertile Andalusian land, well cared for and full of life.