2009 Olio Nuovo

In addition to wine one of the special pleasure of the fall arrived yesterday, a freshly pressed olive oil from the 2009 harvest. In this case it is from the California Olive Ranch Olio Nuovo and the olives were harvest just over a week ago.

It was cracked open last night. It's bright, vivid green, almost an electric green. There's lots of fruit in the nose, some tartness and a somewhat minty aroma. The taste is pure, fresh olive with a few added herbs, primarily rosemary. The pungency shows up in the mid-palate and the finishing bitterness and mild heat is there at the end.

The oil was poured into a small container and some crusty bread was dipped in it. Delicious. By the end of the weekend there will be some tossed with freshly made pasta. Good stuff.

As an added bonus, the first shipment of wine from Michel Schlumberger arrived today. I'm away until Sunday, but the weekend is going to end very well.