I use a lot of EVOOs and I enjoy searching Amazon for hard to find, artisan made Olive Oils. This one is delicious. It was made last November from a single Olive varietal, the Nocellara del Belice (I always thought that was a table olive!) and it tastes really fresh. It's unfiltered, but it's not particularly cloudy at room temperature. Refrigerated, it became thicker and much more cloudy, which is always a good sign of a genuine, unadulterated EVOO. Good, mid to dark green colour. Lovely fresh, olive fragrance. I like to have my first tester of a new EVOO as a neat slurp, straight off a tablespoon - it gives me an idea of what foods it will go best with. This one is robust, but not rough - it's got bags and bags of smooth Olive juice flavour - initially of fresh cut grass, then a fruity Olive-ness, artichoke, tomato leaf, and then a beguiling nuttiness. The peppery throat 'kick' is there, but not enough to make your eyes water or give you a cough. It is very smooth, absolutely no bitterness, and the aftertaste is sweetly nutty and the fruitiness of the olive lingers, no greasiness or harshness. This, for me, will be best appreciated just generously drizzled over salads and pasta - or simply eaten with fresh, crusty bread. It's far too nice to cook with. Some Italian Olive oils have suffered a bad press over the years, and I've tended to avoid a lot of them because I like my Olive oils to be exactly what they say they are. This is lovely, and I've just sent off for another bottle. It's delicious.
