La Lieutenante olive oil Grand Cru Vert | Provence | FR | 3L

Franse Biologische Olijfolie

Franse biologische olijfolie. A young olive farmer, established in the idyllic setting of the Vallée des Baux de Provence Over Franse Biologische olijfolie La Lieutenante The story starts in 1956 near Arles, in the heart of Provence, on a family property handed down for nearly two centuries. After a devastating frost that destroyed nearly all the olive trees in the region, my grandfather, Jean Bélorgey, who was keen to perpetuate the tradition, decided to prune the olive trees extensively and to plant new ones. In 1963, together with some friends, he acquired a mill to turn the olives into oil and to prepare table olives. My father, Marc Bélorgey, continued the development of the family olive grove since 1992 and took part in the plan to revive olive growing in France. French olive growing therefore had to find a new boost to develop. In 2002, the circumstances of life led me to take over the management of the estate well ahead of schedule. An engineer by training, working for a bank in Luxembourg, I started sharing my time between my job in finance and managing the family farm. The following year, after long and careful thought, I decided to go back to my roots (my paternal grandmother is from Arles) and to take up residence in the estate and devote myself to it fully. When I was a toddler, I would spend my holidays getting on tractors, climbing on olive trees to look for cicadas, learning to recognise the different varieties of olives with my grandfather, and gathering them on All Saints’ Day. A new life started then… I acquired unique know-how with passion and humility. So every year, in November, olive oil was extracted cold immediately from the olives, solely by mechanical means. A “No sooner picked, no sooner pressed” approach delivers a veritable nectar, pure fruit juice without additives or preservatives. As we say with enthusiasm: “Olive oil “La Lieutenante” is a natural product that combines health with pleasure”. The year 2010 was a turning point. Backed by my wife, Virginie, I decided to pass a new milestone and to become an “olive farmer”. Henceforth the olive oil will bear the name of the estate: “La Lieutenante”. This new direction was rewarded as of the first year with a Gold and a silver Medal at the “Concours Général Agricole de Paris” [Paris Agriculture Fair]. Since then, other medals have been awarded in recognition of premium expertise and work. Reassured about having made the right choice, I am continuing my olive farming adventure, always mindful that “the olive tree repays a hundredfold the care we give it”. Franse biologische olijfolie Laurent Bélorgey, Olive farmer

A family estate handed down over two centuries

Our olive grove today covers 48 hectares and boasts 13,000 olive trees planted gradually from generation to generation. We cultivate essentially the four varieties recognised by the Appellation of the Vallée des Baux De Provence:

• Salonenque, or “Plant de Salon” is an exceptional, very old variety, which may stem from Thessalonica – whence its name. Typical of the Bouches du Rhône, its fruit is pear-shaped. Picked when green and tender in October, once prepared, they become the famous Broken Olives from the Vallée des Baux de Provence, distinguished by an P.D.O.. When they start turning mauve in November, they are introduced in the blend of our olive oil, conferring finesse and softness to it.
• Béruguette, also known as Aglandau, is an olive variety that gives our oil its characteristic green colour, its aromas of greenery, its extraordinary green almond flavour, its character, fieriness, extended keeping qualities, and finally its authenticity. Prepared as a table olive, it becomes also the famous Broken Olive from the Vallée des Baux de Provence, distinguished by a P.D.O..
• Verdale des Bouches du Rhône, with elongated fruit with white spots, has the particular feature of being resistant to the cold on our plots which are particularly exposed to the Mistral. It confers on our olive oil herbaceous and green apple aromas. It is also prepared as a green table olive.
• Grossane, which legend has it, was brought to the region during the Crusades by the Lords of Baux, is a pulpy olive, typical of the Vallée des Baux, which once prepared, becomes the delicious Black Olive of the Vallée des Baux de Provence, distinguished by a P.D.O.. Used for our olive oil, it confers mildness and the aromas of sweet almonds.

We also cultivate other varieties:

• Picholine, which stems from Gard, owes its name to the brothers Picholini who, in the beginning of the 18th century, made green olives edible by burying them in a mix of ashes of wood and chalk. The main French variety for the preparation of green table olives, it is picked from September to the end of October. Picked later, it confers fieriness and herbaceous notes to our olive oil.
• Cailletier, which stems from Alpes Maritimes, promotes the pollination of our groves. Picked when turning colour, it confers green or fresh almond aromas to our olive oil. Picked black, when fully ripe, it becomes a small table olive.