Beautiful Evergreen Olive Trees
Olive trees are evergreen, retaining their foliage throughout the year. Their old leaves are shed only as new growth appears. Olive groves are admired for their timeless beauty, with leathery, silvery-grey leaves and the beautifully sculpted trunks of mature trees. With proper care, olive trees can remain productive for up to 500 years. Exceptionally resilient and adaptable, they thrive in a wide range of conditions. of the oldest olive trees in the world are estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old.
Hacienda el Lince is also home to some ancient specimens, although most of its olive trees are between one and two centuries old.
A Healthy Superfood
Olive fruits vary in size, colour, and flavour according to the cultivar. Green olives are harvested once they have reached their full size but before they are fully ripe, while black olives are allowed to ripen naturally on the tree, gradually changing in colour from green to deep purple or black. Depending on the variety, olives take approximately six to eight months to mature.
Freshly harvested olives are naturally bitter and therefore unsuitable for immediate consumption. They must first undergo a curing process before they can be enjoyed as table olives. Nearly 90 per cent of the world's olive harvest is used to produce olive oil, with olives containing, on average, between 20 and 30 per cent oil.
Celebrated for both its flavour and nutritional value, olive oil is an outstanding source of omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, while also providing vitamins A, D, E and K, together with a wealth of beneficial micronutrients. Its remarkable qualities have been appreciated since ancient times. Hippocrates (c. 460–377 BC), regarded as the father of medicine, prescribed olive oil both as a remedy to be taken internally and as a treatment to be applied externally. Long before the invention of soap, olive oil served as a cleansing agent and came to symbolise purity, wellbeing and divine favour.
Artisanal Olive Oil Made the Traditional Way
Olive groves cover the largest part of the Hacienda el Lince estate. The nearly two-century-old olive trees thrive in the climate and soils of the Montes de Málaga mountains, producing an annual harvest of approximately 30 tonnes. The principal olive varieties cultivated on the estate are Picudo, Hojiblanca, Manzanilla and Verdial.
At Hacienda el Lince, olive oil is produced in the traditional manner. The olives are harvested by hand and transported immediately to the olive mill, where they are cold-pressed to obtain the finest extra virgin olive oil. As olives begin to lose valuable nutrients and aromatic compounds soon after harvesting, the time between picking and milling is crucial to preserving the oil's quality. In this respect, small-scale producers enjoy an important advantage over large industrial operations: smaller harvests can be processed more quickly and with greater care, allowing producers to closely monitor and ensure the exceptional quality of their artisanal oils.
Once produced, extra virgin olive oil is highly sensitive to light, heat and oxygen, which can gradually diminish its freshness and nutritional value. To safeguard its quality, Hacienda el Lince olive oil is bottled in dark glass, while a specially designed airtight closure helps prevent oxidation. At home, olive oil is best stored in a cool, dark place to preserve its flavour, aroma and beneficial properties.
Harvesting Olives Is All About Timing
Olives must be harvested at precisely the right stage of ripeness, when they have reached their full size and their green colour begins to deepen slightly. At this stage, the fruit is still firmly attached to the branches and will not fall simply by shaking the tree. This is when olives contain the highest concentration of valuable nutrients, producing an oil that is at its healthiest, most aromatic and most flavourful.
Although olives harvested before full ripeness yield less oil than fully mature, dark-coloured fruit, their concentration of beneficial compounds is significantly higher. For this reason, at Hacienda el Lince we choose to produce a smaller quantity of olive oil in order to ensure the finest possible quality.
Preserving Traditional Methods
To harvest the olives, the trees are shaken using a powerful vibrating device, while workers gently dislodge the fruit with traditional olive poles and hand-pick olives from the lower branches using specialised olive rakes. As olives are still firmly attached to the tree at their optimal harvesting stage, olive picking is a demanding and labour-intensive process that requires both time and care.
Young and Old Alike Can Take Part
The olives, whether hand-picked or shaken from the trees, are collected on large nets spread beneath the canopy. Twigs and leaves are carefully removed, after which the olives are gently transferred into crates and promptly transported to the olive mill for processing.
Hacienda el Lince 2025 Harvest
In 2025, we harvested approximately 30 tonnes of olives at Hacienda el Lince and produced 5000 litres of extra virgin olive oil. The olive-green label reflects the character of the oil within: the 2025 harvest yields an oil with a beautiful green hue, fresh aromas and a pleasantly peppery finish.
The 2025 olive oil is a carefully crafted blend of several olive varieties. The distinctive flavour profile is shaped primarily by Picudo and Hojiblanca olives, complemented by smaller proportions of Manzanilla and Verdial. The oil is bottled in elegant 500 ml glass bottles to preserve its freshness, aroma and nutritional qualities.
In Estonia, Hacienda el Lince olive oil is available from the following retailers:
- BESTWINE Wine & Gourmet Shop
- NOP Café & Store
- Stockmann Food Department
- Tallinn Department Store – Food Hall
- Tartu Department Store – Food Hall
