Empeltre
The olive of the Ebro valley, and the one whose name is an agronomic fact: empeltre means "grafted" in Aragonese, because the variety will not root from cuttings in any practical way. Its oil is yellow, smooth and almost without bitterness.
In the grove
Empeltre runs along the Ebro basin — Teruel, Zaragoza, Huesca, La Rioja, Navarra, southern Catalonia and Castellón — and out to the Balearics, where it is called Mallorquina. It is also grown in Mendoza and Córdoba in Argentina. It is the principal variety of DOP Aceite del Bajo Aragón, and it is used both for oil and for naturally processed black table olives.
Two things are worth knowing. First, propagation: rooting capacity is so low that the variety is grafted rather than struck, which is where the name comes from and why it has never spread the way Arbequina has. Second, an authenticity quirk — an Aragonese clonal selection produces Δ7-stigmastenol at up to 0.76%, which can push a genuine extra virgin past the EU sterol limits. It is a documented analytical trap, not an adulteration.
Compared with the other reference cultivars
| Cultivar | Origin | Typical polyphenols | Sensory profile | Best pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empeltre | Aragón, Spain | Not published | Yellow and smooth, sweet and aromatic, no bitterness | Cured fish, tomato bread, mild cheese |
| Picual | Jaén, Spain | 300–700 mg/kg | Intensely green, clean bitterness, late-building pungency | Tomato salad, grilled vegetables, bread and salt |
| Coratina | Puglia, Italy | 330–410 mg/kg | Powerfully green and herbaceous, strong bitterness and pungency | Bean soups, grilled meat, bitter greens |
| Koroneiki | Messinia, Greece | Around the Greek mean; Cretan surveys 138–441 mg/kg | Green and aromatic, balanced bitterness and pungency | Greek salad, feta, grilled fish, horta |
| Arbequina | Lleida, Spain | 200–230 mg/kg | Soft, sweet entry, barely bitter, light pungency | Fish, salads, baking, mayonnaise |
| Hojiblanca | Córdoba, Spain | 280–820 mg/kg | Green-fruity, firm bitterness, peppery finish when picked early | Roast vegetables, pulses, aged cheese |
| Cornicabra | Toledo, Spain | ~630 mg/kg | Intensely fruity, elegant moderate bitterness, measured pungency | Game, stews, hard cheese, toast |
| Picudo | Córdoba, Spain | Not published | Aromatic and sweet, very little bitterness | Desserts, fresh cheese, delicate fish |
Polyphenol figures are the ranges published for each variety, not measurements of any bottle in the library. A single oil's figure depends on when it was picked and how it was milled, and is shown on that oil's own page where the producer states one.