Mira Luna Olive Oils

Mira Luna olive oils – three oils from Provence

Domaine Mira Luna does not just make wine. From the same hills of Provence come three extra virgin olive oils, all organically grown and all cold-pressed – each in 250 ml and 500 ml bottles. They differ less in price than in the time of harvest, and that is exactly what determines the taste.

Early or late harvest – the difference

If olives are harvested early, shortly before full ripeness, the yield is lower, but the aroma is more intense. Such oils taste of green tomato and fresh grass and have a slight prickle in the throat. This prickle is not a flaw, but the hallmark of a high polyphenol content – those plant substances that keep the oil stable and represent its antioxidant value.

Late harvest reverses this: ripe yellow fruit, almond notes, significantly less bitterness, a rounder finish. Neither one nor the other is better – they are two tools for two tasks.

The three oils

• DOP Provence, green-fruity: the early harvest. Green tomato, fresh grass, peppery finish. The most robust of the three – for anything that can handle some resistance.
• Frantoio: single-varietal from one of the most aromatically intense olive varieties in the Mediterranean. Artichoke, green almond, clear and fluid rather than greasy. Best used pure: over grilled fish, on bruschetta, with raw vegetables.
• Provence, fully ripe harvest: the mild one. Rounder and softer than Tuscan oils, ripe fruit and a spicy herbal line. For vinaigrettes, tapenade, over grilled vegetables or with goat cheese.

Two of the three carry a protected designation of origin. It states that cultivation, harvesting, and pressing take place exclusively in the ancestral region and according to established procedures – origin and production are thus verified, not just claimed.

250 or 500 milliliters

Each of the three oils is available in both sizes: 250 ml for 15.90 euros, 500 ml for 26.90 euros. The small bottle is not a budget version, but a question of freshness. Olive oil oxidizes as soon as it is exposed to air and light, losing exactly the aromas for which you bought it. If you rarely reach for the finish, you are better off with 250 ml – you will use up the oil while it is at the height of its power.

A tip for putting together a selection: Take a green-fruity and a mild oil in parallel. The robust one goes on the dish at the end, the mild one into the vinaigrette – this way you can taste the difference at your own table. The matching wines can be found under Mira Luna wines.