CENTENARIUM Olive Oil 500ml

Centenarium Olive Oil from centuries-old Picual trees in Jaén

Nobleza del Sur Centenarium is an extra virgin olive oil made from 100% Picual olives from centuries-old trees on the Finca Vista Alegre in Jaén. Boldly green, fruity, with a bitter and piquant edge – not a mild everyday oil, but one with real character.

Nobleza del Sur Centenarium is the award-winning flagship product of the Peñuelas-Sagra family from Castellar in the Andalusian province of Jaén. For this extra virgin olive oil, only Picual olives from centenary trees on the Finca Vista Alegre are harvested, picked early in October and cold-pressed within four hours. An oil whose name honors the ancient trees – the olivos centenarios.

Boldly green, fruity, and peppery

Centenarium tastes just as green as it looks – like freshly mown grass, green apple, and green almond, with a spicy hint of tomato leaf. Grassy, fruity, and spicy; this is the hallmark of an early-harvest Picual oil.

Typical of Picual are the robust bitterness and the pungency that lingers as a peppery tickle in the throat – a sign of the early harvest, when the olives are still green and unripe when they go to the mill. Fruity, bitter, and piquant are the three qualities used to measure a good olive oil, and Centenarium carries all three with emphasis. You will recognize this power immediately on a slice of warm white bread.

Raw, over the dishes where it counts

An oil like Centenarium is best enjoyed raw, where its green, spicy character isn't cooked away. As an extra virgin olive oil, it belongs on the table, not in a hot frying pan.

Drizzled over grilled vegetables, a tomato salad, or as a final swirl over lentil soup, its green fruitiness comes through perfectly. Bold fish like grilled sardines and an aged Manchego stand up well to its bitterness. Even on vanilla ice cream with a few flakes of salt, this oil makes for a surprising pairing – a spoonful is enough to steer the dish in a different direction.

The Peñuelas-Sagra family has been pressing oil since 1640

Behind Nobleza del Sur is not a corporation, but a family that has been cultivating olives in Jaén since 1640 – now in its twelfth generation.

It all started with Miguel Sánchez Sagra and a small grove; today his descendants manage over 300 hectares and press their oil in their own mill. For Centenarium, only the centuries-old trees of the Finca Vista Alegre count, whose deep roots give the olives their dense, spicy flavor – favored by the warm microclimate in the heart of Jaén, where the sun burns reliably. Ten to fourteen kilos of olives go into every liter, pressed with an acidity level of only 0.1 percent – a value far below the limit for the highest quality grade.

The jury of the New York International Olive Oil Competition awarded Nobleza del Sur Centenarium gold in 2022 and 2023, as did Olive Japan, and the Flos Olei guide gives it 99 out of 100 points. You can also find the bold organic oil DAY made from 100% Picual and the entire Nobleza del Sur assortment with us. Impressive indeed.

How to keep the oil fresh

Light and heat are the enemies of any good olive oil. The dark bottle blocks out quite a bit; it is best to keep the Centenarium in a cool, dark cupboard, not next to the stove.

Once opened, it tastes great for months, but the green fruitiness is most vibrant in the first half-year after harvest. 500 milliliters are enough for many plates – a good glug every day is the best way to honor such an oil.