Marqués de Valdueza

True to the saying "Noblesse oblige," the name **Marqués de Valdueza** rightly stands for the outstanding quality of **excellent extra virgin olive oils**.

Marqués de Valdueza: a noble name that delivers on its promise

The Álvarez de Toledo family belongs to the Spanish high nobility. Since 1624, the descendants have held the hereditary title of Marqués (in English: Margrave) de Villanueva de Valdueza. In Germany, the House of Álvarez de Toledo is primarily known as the dynasty of the Dukes of Alba. Today, however, the noble name Marqués de Valdueza is primarily making headlines with an excellent olive oil that is widely acclaimed worldwide.

The **high-quality extra virgin olive oil from Marqués de Valdueza** is produced on the Perales de Valdueza estate. This 1000-hectare property is located near the city of Mérida in the province of Badajoz (in Extremadura) in western Spain. With hot summers and mild winters, the olives of Marqués de Valdueza have the ideal Mediterranean climate to develop many wonderful aromas.

Tradition and Technology: The Basis for the Premium Quality of Fine Olive Oils

Because the Álvarez de Toledo family has been involved in agriculture and especially olive cultivation for many generations, they can draw on a rich wealth of experience and extensive know-how. At the same time, Marqués de Valdueza uses new machinery and the best technology, allowing the family business to effortlessly meet the highest demands. With the self-imposed goal of combining ancient tradition with new technology and the first-class quality of their soil, olive oils of the highest quality level are produced.

Through generations of experience, the olive growers of Marqués de Valdueza have learned to recognize the ripening stage of their olives. Therefore, in cooperation with trained specialists, they can precisely determine the best harvest time for a high-quality and aromatic extra virgin olive oil. In the oil mill, equipped with modern hammer mills and stainless steel mixers, the freshly picked fruits are processed under strict hygienic conditions. Before being released for sale, the excellent olive oil from Marqués de Valdueza undergoes a physical-chemical analysis that adheres to the established standards of the International Olive Council (IOC).

Marqués de Valdueza – Noblesse Oblige

So that our Earth with its treasures, including olive oils with their wonderful aromas, is preserved for posterity, the Álvarez de Toledo family has placed the greatest emphasis on environmental protection for generations. In the last 30 years, however, Marqués de Valdueza has further improved its olive cultivation and adapted it to the most modern conditions. Cultivation is carried out exclusively using environmentally friendly methods, so that the olives can ripen and thrive naturally in a natural environment. This means:

• The olive trees are mechanically pruned, so that the plant residues fall to the ground and remain there.
• On the one hand, this natural ground cover retains moisture in the soil and protects the soil from drying out.
• On the other hand, the decomposing plant residues provide many nutrients and thus represent a natural fertilizer.
• Through a modern irrigation system, each olive tree receives only as much water as it needs. Excessive or even wasteful water consumption is thereby excluded.

From Harvest to Bottling

• At Marqués de Valdueza, only healthy and whole olives are processed, as fruits that have fallen to the ground are not used.
• The harvested olives are collected in small, airy crates to ensure the integrity of the fruits.
• Because the oil mill is located in the same area as the olive grove, the journey is short, and intermediate storage of the picked olives is eliminated. This ensures rapid further processing and prevents the fruits from oxidizing.
• In the modern oil mill, the temperature does not exceed 27 degrees Celsius at any stage of processing. This preserves both the wonderful aromas and all healthy ingredients from the olive.
• After vacuuming the fruits to remove dust and leaf residues, a shower with clear water is performed for gentle final cleaning.
• Subsequently, the olives are milled, kneaded, and finally centrifuged in a two-phase decanter. The naturally cloudy olive oil separates from the remaining olive mass (= orujo) and the vegetation water (= alpechín).
• The cloudy oil is directed to clarification tanks, where impurities settle at the bottom.
• Clear and pure, the ready-for-sale extra virgin olive oil is stored until bottling in large stainless steel tanks, which prevent oxidation with the help of nitrogen. The temperature of the storage room is constantly monitored.

Marqués de Valdueza Olive Oils – Internationally Recognized and Awarded

The effort and care truly pay off, as **Marqués de Valdueza** confirms through international recognition. This first-class olive oil is sold in more than 30 countries worldwide. The most renowned chefs, sommeliers, and gastronomy critics praise this top-quality oil. Trade journals like the German Feinschmecker, and popular magazines and newspapers such as Vogue, The Guardian, or El País Semanal, have deemed Marqués de Valdueza's exclusive olive oil worthy of an article.

Furthermore, the excellent extra virgin olive oils from the Álvarez de Toledo family have already won numerous international prizes and awards, such as:

• The silver medal at Olive Japan
• The gold medal at NYIOOC
• The gold medal at the Concurso Extrema Selección
• The gold medal at CINVE
• And many more.