The tale of an old friend from Puglia
Some of our longer standing customers may well fondly remember the wonderfully intense, strong and robust Puglian oil that we sold as part of our heritage range for around ten years between 2004 and 2014.
Unfortunately, in 2015 we were forced to stop selling it when Xylella Fastidiosa, a bacterium that slowly chokes trees to death devasted thousands upon thousands of Puglian olive groves. The Italian government ordered millions of trees to be chopped down and destroyed in an attempt to stop the spread of this terrible disease and the tragic effect it was having upon the very existence of numerous olive oil producing families.
Thankfully the strategy succeeded enough to allow Puglian olive trees to once more after several painfully sad years bear fruit.
Phil’s good friend Elia Pellegrino and his father Sebastiano’s farm La Spineta was greatly affected by the cull and consequently could only produce minimal amounts of oil.
Over time their production capacity has thankfully increased and now whatever can be produced they sell under Elia’s own label, not surprisingly called Pellegrino. We are delighted to tell you that we now stock this wonderful oil and are thrilled to be supporting an old friend who has been through hard times!
Made with handpicked Coratina olives, the colouring mix is 90% green and only 10% black olives to produce the strong and intense oil that is required to be bottled as the family Riserva.
The flavour is full of character, very, very, green, fruity and yet bitter at the same time and with a typically Puglian peppery finish.
It is superb especially when used to dress hearty pasta, meat or vegetable dishes.
The distinctive bottle is attractively packaged in a matt black tube to keep its precious contents out of the light and therefore maintaining its exceptionally high quality.
So, if you remember this wonderfully strong and peppery oil of oils, why not revisit for old times? Or if you weren’t a customer of ours way back then why not treat yourself to this oil now to see just how fantastic it really is … knowing along the way you are supporting a heart-warming and truly inspiring story of triumph in the face of adversity!
