Casa De Hualdo
In 1986 Francisco Riberas, already one of the most solid Spanish businessmen, acquired the La Ventilla farm in El Carpio de Tajo (Toledo) to start his dealings in the specific business of agriculture. He soon lent his special character to the new activity and over the years he has expanded the boundaries of that small business, making it a huge mosaic of crops and uses.
Almost ten years later in 1996 he started an ambitious transformation of the farm, successively planting up to 300,000 olive trees. The favourable conditions of the area and the painstaking dedication to look after it, have made the crop generous to us, providing us with a delicate olive of unique quality.
Only with great respect and knowledge of the area, uniting the peaceful enjoyment of the countryside with state-of-the-art agricultural management techniques, have the most appreciated attributes of this thousand-year old fruit been able to express themselves.
This olive oil sets out to be a simple homage from his family and all those who have had the privilege to work with him to the unique figure of Francisco Riberas, who did not live to see the conclusion of this project.
Casa de Hualdo has several single variety EVOO including Cornicabra which is the only olive variety protected by PDO association.
The Territory, On the banks of the River Tagus
When the River Tagus basin passes through the province of Toledo, it models a very typical landscape which on its southern side climbs from the meadows to the piedmont alluvial fan deposits of the mountains.
Our olive groves are based on this geographical setting and on a slightly undulated topography which encompasses from 400 to 600 m in altitude, alternating with other uses and areas of interspersed hills. Olive growing has been carried out in the region since time immemorial as numerous mozarabic documents testify.
The climate is hard, with cold winters and dry and very hot summers, thereby promoting the natural control of pests and diseases . Little rainfall and modern deficit irrigation techniques enhance the quality of the fruit and effectively slow down the excessive vigour of the trees, allowing very delicate oils to be obtained.
With the arrival of autumn the temperatures fall, though without freezing, ensuring optimum conditions at harvesting time. The olive, gathered directly from the tree, is taken immediately to THE OLIVE MILL to avoid its deterioration.
Year by year, with a lot of determination we are gradually perfecting crop collection.
The Awards
Awards and prizes in the world of the EVOO have been a great stimulus for quality producers for some years now. They have made it possible not only to compare but also to share the importance of the harvest season, the virtues of each variety or the different geographical areas, with the disparity that this entails. Furthermore, they encourage the willingness to improve year after year.
In this intense decade of participation in contests, guides and competitions throughout the world, we have received enormous joy and success, and we have learned a lot about our own products. Our oils have been awarded by organizations and prestigious tasting panels in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, China, Japan, Canada, the United States, Argentina… as well as by the Denomination of Origin that welcomes us and by the Spanish region in which we are located. Furhtermore, they are everyday especially recognized by many lovers of this unique food.
After these wonderful experiences, and in view of the unending proliferation of competitions, we have chosen to reduce our exposure in this area as much as possible, in order to explain more directly to the consumer the value of the agricultural project behind our oils, which result is not only a distinctive and repeatedly awarded final product.
Our EVOOs are the result of constant and dedicated work, and they represent the excellence for the Casas de Hualdo team in every step of the elaboration process: from comprehensive agricultural management in the field, through sustainability, to research, ending up in the oil culture itself. These different elements structure the relationship between respect and affection that we feel towards the fascinating natural landscape of Hualdo Estate. And we serve it bottled in the table of consumers all around the world.
