East meets west: tasting Becchina 2009 Olio Verde and Olio al Limone

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Yesterday I got a parcel from Gianfranco and Gabriella Becchina containing bottles of 2009 Olio Verde and Olio al Limone produced by them at the Antica Tenuta dei Principi Pignatelli in Castelvetrano, Trapani.
My three year old daughter and I were really excited about it, she is crazy about extra virgin olive oil and has already an amazing palate for it.
Grandmother Carla joined in and as we tasted it, firstly on its own, then on bread, Sofia started corkscrewing her index finger into her cheek, the Italian way to say that something is delicious, then she said: "Mamma, oggi spaghetti e olio, senza pomodoro, per favore" (Mamma, today spaghetti with olive oil and no tomato please.)
I do not need to add anything else ;!
Tasting this elegantly balanced extra virgin olive oil from the west coast of the island, I could only be amazed at the way Sicily is blessed with a fantastic variety of top quality olive oils. Olio Verde is so different from the top olive oil produced in the Monti Iblei in my area, it is a different expression of the Sicilian terroir. You need them all to make your perfect Sicilian extra virgin olive oil list. They can simply be different shades of green and golden yellow flavour to brush your Sicilian delicacies with excellence.

Cloudy green in colour, lusciously fluid on the palate and tasting like olive fruit, Gianfranco Becchina’s Olio Verde is known worldwide for its unique freshness. Its quality is the result of early pressing of Gianfranco's carefully hand harvested olives, which gives a lower yield but an amazing quality. The olives are the most sought-after variety, Nocellara del Belice, and some of the trees in the estate are 300 year old. Becchina was the first one to press and bottle exclusively olives of this pulpy autochthonous variety, which were considered too precious and reserved for the cured-olives market only before.

A great surprise was the Lemon flavoured Olive Oil they sent us, as I had never tasted the one they produce before. I usually avoid buying scented olive oil as I often find the taste to be "fake", lab generated. But this is just wonderful, clearly made with the same knowledge, love and care as Olio Verde.
For those who have visited the estate, this choice does not come as a surprise as they have seen the seven hundred lemon trees interspersed amidst three thousand olive trees and heard all about Gianfranco’s passionate tending for these ancient lemon trees over the years.
Gabriella, Gianfranco's daughter, explained to me how they make it. On the morning of the last day of milling, hundreds of freshly picked lemons are peeled by hand. This zest alone, as opposed to the whole fruit whose white pith gives off a bitter flavor, are added to the olive paste before the oil is extracted, so that, once again, only the pure flavor of the fruit, in this case olive and lemon, is captured.
I can hardly wait for the next tuna season in April-May to try it on a tuna tartare.

Thank you Gianfranco and Gabriella for the wonderful surprise and your amazing work.