Among our favorite things about fall and Thanksgiving: making our Limited Reserve extra virgin olive oil. It's the freshest oil we mill. And it's bottled soon after the olives are crushed, delivering a "burst" of flavor intensity. We asked our Master Miller Bob Singletary and our Technical Service Manager Mary Bolton - a food scientist and olive oil tasting expert - to tell us about this season's batch of Limited.  
 
How has the drought affected the characteristics of this year's oil?
 
It has affected our milling facility. We've have made strides to reduce our water usage at the mill. And, over the past two years, we've noticed a change in timing of when the olives ripen. We've started our harvest earlier, because the drought has affected fruit ripening.  We've done this to ensure we can still maintain the flavor profile we want in our oil to give a consistent product year after year.
 
When choosing the best pressings to make Limited Reserve, is there a general flavor profile you try to achieve each year?

Mary Bolton and Bob Singletary

We typically incorporate our three olive varietals - Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki - to make a balanced blend of our favorite oils.  This year is an exception, as we had some phenomenal options in Koroneiki that we could not resist.  We usually go for a more robust oil to have a strong, healthy (by way of high polyphenols), flavorful oil.  Typically, we meet a few weeks before we've planned to bottle the oil. We review the various oils we've made, and make various blends with our tasting team. We then choose the best.
 
What olive varieties typically are used to make Limited - and why?

Traditionally, we use all three. Arbequina provides a lot of fruit flavor and herbaciousness. The Arbosana always gives a lot of floral notes and contributes to the medium bitterness and pungency we like to have in the Limited Reserve. And the Koroneiki gives us that real kick in the back of your throat pungency, as well as a very banana flavor at the beginning. 

This year, however, we decided to go with a blend of all Koroneiki oils from two separate ranches that we have.  One of the Koroneiki oils provides the strong pungency that we love in our Limited Reserve, with a hint of the green herbaceousness.  The other Koroneiki  is from a younger orchard and gives the milder tones with the green tea, green fruit (apple and banana) characteristics that we absolutely love.

The taste of Limited can change from year to year. Why is that?
 
We try to select our favorite oils throughout the season. It depends on the age of the orchard, the time we are able to harvest, and what "wows" us.  We stick with the same idea each year. However, some ranches can bring amazing oils that we didn't see the year before.
 
What is your favorite way to enjoy Limited Reserve?
 
Because it's so fresh and flavorful, it's always nice with a fresh winter salad to bring out the floral and pungent characteristics of the oil. It's also good with a salad combining spinach, cranberry, walnut, a dash of balsamic glaze, and goat cheese. Another alternative would be to sauté some squash with a pinch of salt.
 
Are there any foods or dishes that go especially well with Limited Reserve?
 
Limited Reserve usually has a very fruit forward flavor and typically is on the intense side.  Any dish that you want the olive oil to make its presence known and to deliver a flavor impact would be great for this oil.  Risotto is a great winter dish for Limited Reserve, as are grilled or sautéed vegetables. A favorite at Bob's house is chicken picata with some lemon juice and capers.