Much better than those required by the legal requirenments!
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Finca Duernas is immensely proud of the fact that it has been seen as an example for other farms (known locally as fincas) to follow over various periods of its history and that its owners have gained a hard-earned reputation for excellence.
Our innovation can be clearly seen in the cultivation techniques we use. Many olive orchards have irregular rows of olive trees following the dips and rises of the contour lines, with the trunks at varying levels and differently shaped trees. At Finca Duernas, however, the rows are perfectly straight, with trees of uniform height and shape, allowing the olives to be harvested mechanically in optimum conditions and the trees to be looked after properly.
“ Vivimos como si mañana fuese el último día, cuidamos la tierra como si viviésemos eternamente”
Finca Duernas meets all the strictest organic farming requirements and encourages biodiversity and soil conservation as a means of halting erosion. In addition, for us, excellence necessarily involves producing extra virgin olive oils which are clean and healthy.
Even more important than looking after nature is the need to respect all the people who work here to make to land more productive. At Finca Duernas, everyone is considered equal. Each person has a job to do and is given the necessary training to improve their personal skills and working performance. Over the years, several generations of the same families have worked at Finca Duernas, and their lives, and those of their families, are inextricably linked to the farm.
"The staff at Duernas are not just ‘human resources’ – first and foremost, they are people"
50 ac
This region called the Roman Baetica was the main olive oil supplier of the whole Roman Empire
1236
The name of the farm “Duernas” appears for the first time during the distribution of the lands by Kind Saint Ferdinand during the reconquest. It is related to the salt mines close to the farm.
1870
Alberto Méndez Sánchez y Soledad de Córdova y González de Aguilar They started running the farm and this amazing story of the family olive grove
1940
Ana Méndez de Córdova Bernardo López Baena Bernardo López Baena They rebuilt the facilities after the war and innovated agricultural methods. Finca Duernas became FINCA MODELO by the Agricultural Ministry in 1943. They were pioneers of modern agriculture in Andalusia
1974
Soledad López Méndez y Juan Manuel Serrano de la Cruz Enlarged the olive oil groves and installed the drop irrigation system in Finca Duernas Renewed the current mill (Oleoduernas)
2010
Josemaría Serrano López y Soledad Serrano López Led the transition to organic farming of the olive orchard and increase the quality of the extra virgin olive oil to those among the world’s best. Designed Duernas brand and exported to over 20 countries
A different arbequina
Duernas extra virgin arbequina is unique world’s wide, most olive oil experts say. What you normally expect from this varietal y a quite fruity mild olive oil, which is quite sweet, is never bitter and it is rarely spicy at the end of the palate. Ours, starts being fruity and sweet but with slight bitter and quite nice spicy sensations at the end of the palate.
This is quite peculiar and certifies its freshness and high quality because the high concentration of polyphenols.
balanced and elegant
Duernas Organic Picual had a green aroma to aromatic herbs and recently cut grass. It is a quite complex olive oil, intense and aromatic and very convenient to have for any kitchen technique because of its stability. It is quite bitter and spicy which are two very important positive attributes of olive oil because only the ones obtained from fresh green olives have these healthy characteristics.
These sensations appear because of the high concentration of antioxidants only present in early harvested and high quality extra virgin olive oils.
We start harvesting in Finca Duernas around mid October, two months ahead to the industry. At this precise moment is when the olives are at the “envero” maturity point. It is one of nature’s most beautiful moments of change. The olive fruit changes colour from green to purple, gaining in aromatic strength and flavour and acquiring greater nutritional richness. Olive oil pressed at this key moment is the freshest and healthiest of all.
We start harvesting in Finca Duernas around mid October, two months ahead to the industry. At this precise moment is when the olives are at the “envero” maturity point. It is one of nature’s most beautiful moments of change. The olive fruit changes colour from green to purple, gaining in aromatic strength and flavour and acquiring greater nutritional richness. Olive oil pressed at this key moment is the freshest and healthiest of all.
We harvest in very small batches and the olives are milled minutes after upon the examination and classification following quality criteria and varietals. The traceability of the oil is complete from the bottle to the tree, following the batch number. No olives from out side the farm is allowed.
The total capacity of our cellar is 600T We select the best oils for our main brands which are Duernas Oleum and Envero and differentiate Organic from Conventional and Arbequina from Picual.
All our oils are filtered and are stored under nitrogen to prevent oxidation
Much better than those required by the legal requirenments!
(*) Máximo permitido: Parámetros establecidos para la clasificación de Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra por el Consejo Oleícola Internacional.
It tells us if the fruit was fresh when harvested
It tells is if the fruit was ripe when reached the mill. Having the mill in the centre of the groves prevents this from happening
It tells is if there has been any fermentation during the production process (overheating, over milling) a careful and short milling prevents this from happening
Phenolic compounds play a key role in our bodies by protecting the lipids in our blood against oxidation. At Finca Duernas, the fruit is harvested at the optimum stage of ripeness, so the antioxidant levels of our juices are far higher than the norm.
The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) recommends an average daily intake of 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and derivatives, which are present in 20 g of extra virgin olive oil. Our oils most of the times double the figure
For 20gr of EVOO
5
8
15
This parameter is the result of the sensory evaluation of the Extra Virgin olive oil, and is linked to both the freshness of the fruit and the good work of the manager of the mill.
Because it is for the time being the only test that determines if the oil is an authentic extra virgin olive oil; this is: if it is a perfect fruit juice full of aromas and flavour.
Defect: 0
Fruity median: 0
Defect: 0
Fruity median: 5