NOVO Olive Oil

NOVO Olive Oil, the first green oil of the year from Jaén

Nobleza del Sur NOVO is an extra virgin olive oil made from 100% Picual, pressed from the very first harvest of the year. Deep green, fresh, and piquant—a limited-edition early harvest oil from the Finca Vista Alegre, as green as any you will find.

Nobleza del Sur NOVO is the young oil from the Peñuelas-Sagra family in Castellar, Andalusia—an extra virgin olive oil made from 100% Picual olives from a select plot at the Finca Vista Alegre. NOVO means new: it is the first oil of the year, pressed from still deep-green olives at the beginning of October, within four hours of harvest. Only a small amount is produced; every bottle is a piece of the early, green season.

Deep green, fresh, and piquant

NOVO tastes as young as it looks—of olive leaf, fresh wheatgrass, and green almond, with hints of tomato leaf and a touch of lavender.

The very early harvest gives the oil a vibrant pungency, with a fine bitterness and a gentle spice in the throat. Grassy, fruity, zesty: this is how an oil tastes that has just left the mill. On warm bread, you will notice the green intensity of the first pressing immediately. It is an oil with impact, young and exuberant, which does not hide its origins.

A seasonal highlight for raw dishes

Such a young oil only reveals its green power when used raw, never in a hot pan, where its fresh aromas would vanish.

Drizzled over carpaccio, on burrata, with grilled fish, or in a clear vegetable soup, its young fruitiness comes into its own. A few drops on toasted bread with a little salt is the simplest way to enjoy an early harvest oil. A plate of fresh pasta, with just garlic and this oil, becomes a little event. If you are looking for a robust Picual all year round, you will find it in our Centenarium from old trees.

The first harvest of the year, strictly limited

NOVO is a novello, a very young oil: it is produced only once a year from the first green olives in early October and is limited accordingly.

Since Miguel Sánchez Sagra planted the first grove in 1640, the Peñuelas-Sagra family has been growing olives in Jaén, now in its twelfth generation, on over 300 hectares with its own mill. For NOVO, they select a single plot of the Finca Vista Alegre and harvest as soon as the fruit turns its deep green color. About 10 to 14 kilos of these early olives yield one liter of oil, pressed at just 0.1 percent acidity.

Because only a single plot goes into the bottles, NOVO sells out quickly year after year. The family has collected international awards for their oils: gold at Olive Japan and 99 out of 100 points in the Flos Olei guide. You can find the entire Nobleza del Sur range with us. The first drop of the year, which connoisseurs wait for every autumn.

Enjoy young, do not store

A novello thrives on its freshness—unlike a fine wine, you do not keep an oil like this; you open it soon.

In the first months after harvest, the Nobleza del Sur NOVO tastes most vibrant, while the green aromas are at their full power. Stored cool and dark, away from light, is best. 500 milliliters for the beautiful, brief time of the first oil—once the bottle is empty, it's a year's wait for the next harvest.