DOMAINE OLEA

At the western limit of Hérault, in the Minervois, Jeanne-Marie and Gérard Matet decided, in 2001, to plant olive groves where, previously, stretched the vine. As they have also managed to produce specimens of the 1956 frost (some are 250 years old), the owners of the Domaine Olea can now rest on nearly 900 trees to produce their oil. In ancient plantations, eleven varieties are identified. The olivière, typical of the place, is the only one to have been identified. The others are still being analysed! As for the new orchards, they are mainly composed of olivière, lucca and picholine. But all are certified organic since 2010.
Three oils are extracted from the plots: two monovariétales with olivière, in fruity fruit, and a fruity black in assembly. Part of the production is on sale at the cooperative olive L'Oulibo, in Bize-Minervois, where the olives of the estate are pressed, in the neighbouring Aude.
Let us also know that, not short of experiments, Jeanne-Marie and Gérard Matet, who have recently embarked on the cultivation of saffron, also manufacture herbal teas from the leaves of the olive tree.