Early harvest extra virgin olive oil is made from olives that are still green, at the start of autumn, weeks before the fruit ripens. You get less oil per kilo, but what comes out is more intense, greener and richer in polyphenols. This year (2026/2027) at Suerte Alta we started harvesting on 21 September.
In the past, olive picking used to begin in December. That was the usual, familiar practice. What’s more, technology was not advanced enough to extract an EVOO of exceptional quality, as today’s oil mills make possible.
In 2006 we opened our own oil mill in Baena. Many people advised my father and Francisco “Paco” Bujalance, our master miller, to start harvesting in December, like everyone else. They chose not to listen and brought the harvest forward to October, while the olives were still green.
That decision is now the foundation of all our oils. In 2012, Paco received the award for best master miller at the 9th AEMO Awards, and our oils have won more than 250 national and international awards.
When does the early harvest begin?
There is no fixed date: it depends on the variety and on how the year turns out. In our case, for the 2026/27 season:
| Variety | Harvest start |
|---|---|
| Manzanilla | 21 September |
| Picual and Arbequina | 1 October |
| Picuda and Hojiblanca | 12 October |
| Arbosana | late October (later ripening) |
The traditional harvest in Spain still takes place between November and January, when the olives are mostly black.
What is véraison (‘envero’)?
Véraison is the moment when the olive starts to change colour, from green to purple before turning black. When we start harvesting at Suerte Alta, almost all of our olives are still green and only a few are beginning to take on that purple hue, the véraison.
Our Picual en Envero takes its name from this phenomenon: a Picual picked at exactly that perfect point of ripeness, when the fruit is at its peak in terms of aromas and polyphenols.
Why not everyone does it
Because green olives contain less oil. Starting at this time of year, our yield is 10–12%. In other words, it takes around 10 kilos of olives to produce one litre of oil. By comparison, in December an olive yields around 19–22%.
On top of this, our production is 100% organic. We only use organic fertilisers, which provide the olive tree with fewer nutrients than conventional fertilisers. As a result, each tree bears fewer kilos of olives than in a conventional olive grove. Fewer olives per tree and less oil per kilo: every litre costs more to produce.
For it to be worthwhile, everything has to move fast. Our olives reach the oil mill less than four hours after being picked, and the oil is extracted below 27 °C with short malaxation times, so as not to lose what was gained by bringing the harvest forward.
Polyphenols: why early harvest oil has more
Polyphenols are natural compounds found in olives. Their concentration peaks when the fruit is green and decreases as ripening progresses. That is why early harvest oil contains considerably more of them than a late-harvest oil.
Besides the timing of the harvest, the variety and the land have a big influence on the level of polyphenols that can be reached. Picual is one of the varieties richest in them, and Picual from Baena, thanks to its soil and climate, tends to be among those with the highest levels.
Our EVOO Manzanilla · Unfiltered exceeds 900 mg/kg of total polyphenols (2026/2027). In several seasons, our Coupage Natural and our Picual en Envero have exceeded 1,200 mg/kg of total polyphenols.
An oil harvested between December and January, like many of those sold at low prices, usually falls far short, both in polyphenols and in quality and intensity on tasting.
Why it is bitter and pungent
Bitterness and pungency are how you notice those polyphenols in your mouth. Bitterness is felt on the tongue; pungency at the end, in the throat. The earlier the oil, the more noticeable they are.
They are not a defect: in official tasting, bitterness and pungency count as positive attributes of a good extra virgin olive oil. They mellow over the months.
If you like an intense oil, the earlier it is, the more you will notice it: look for bitterness and pungency, they are the best sign of an early harvest EVOO.
Unfiltered oil: what it is and how long it keeps
Unfiltered oil is bottled straight from the oil mill, without going through filtration. That is why it is cloudy: it carries small particles of olive pulp and water in suspension.
At Suerte Alta, it is the first oil we release each season because we love it, and so do our customers. This season we have made it with our Manzanilla de Sevilla olives, which we started harvesting on 21 September. You can find it in our shop as AOVE Manzanilla · Sin Filtrar.
An unfiltered EVOO is not better than a filtered one, and it has a trade-off: the particles mean it keeps for a shorter time. We recommend using it within four months of bottling. After that, it makes sense to switch to a filtered oil from the same harvest.
How to store it
- In a cool, dark place, away from the hob and the oven.
- Tightly closed: air oxidises it.
- In unfiltered oil, it is normal for a little sediment to form at the bottom; it is not a defect.
Frequently asked questions
When does the new oil come out? It depends on each oil mill. Our early harvest oil starts coming out in late September or early October, depending on the year.
Is early harvest oil more expensive? It usually is. Green olives yield little oil (in our case, 10–12%: about 10 kilos of olives per litre of oil), and they have to be picked and milled very quickly.
Why does new oil taste bitter and sting the throat? Because of the polyphenols. It is a sign of a fresh, early harvest oil, and it mellows over the months.
How long does unfiltered oil last? We recommend using it within about four months of bottling. Filtered oil keeps much longer. We explain this in detail in Does olive oil expire?
Is green oil the same as early harvest oil? Almost always. The green colour is more intense because it comes from unripe olives, although it changes over time and is not an indicator of the EVOO’s quality.
Manuel Heredia de Liniers, Managing Director of Cortijo de Suerte Alta. We have been producing organic early harvest extra virgin olive oil at our oil mill in Baena since 2006.
