Quaryat Picual

Quaryat Dilar is a family-run almazara (olive oil mill) in Dilar, at the foot of Sierra Nevada, founded in 2009 by the Velasco family. Their estate, Las Animas, spans 130 hectares of olive groves between 1,000 and 1,300 metres of altitude. At that height, temperatures are more extreme, the olive tree endures more stress, and the fruit concentrates more polyphenols. It is pure biology: plant stress becomes intensity in the oil.

This high-altitude Picual has a character distinct from a lowland Picual. In 2024 it received the second prize Mario Solinas from the International Olive Council in the medium green fruity category -- the only oil from Granada among the winners. It has accumulated many awards over the years.

Este Picual nos habla de lo que pasa cuando un olivo crece a más de mil metros, a los pies de Sierra Nevada. El frío de Dílar ralentiza la maduración y concentra los polifenoles de una manera que se nota en la copa: esa astringencia contenida, ese equilibrio entre amargo y picante que no es fácil de lograr. Lo uso mucho para explicar en las catas cómo la altitud transforma completamente el carácter de una variedad.