Spain · Jaén, Andalusia Oil Intensity not published

Picual

also called Marteño, Lopereño, Nevadillo Blanco

The most planted olive variety on earth and the backbone of Andalusian oil. Naturally rich in oleic acid and polyphenols, which makes it both the most stable extra virgin on the shelf and one of the most assertive on the palate.

Oilprimary use of the fruit

Hightypical polyphenol band

20oils in the library

Olive grove in Jaén, Andalusia — a generated illustration, not a photograph of a specific grove

Reference card

Also called	Marteño, Lopereño, Nevadillo Blanco
Main regions	Jaén, Córdoba, Granada
Purpose	Oil
Oleic acid	78–81%
Harvest	Early ripening · Nov–Dec
Shelf stability	Very high — over 55 h Rancimat
Watch out for	Verticillium wilt, peacock spot, drought

Shelf stability is the published Rancimat induction time where one exists. It is measured per variety; smoke point is not, so it is not listed.

In the grove

Grove — placeholder

Fruit at harvest — placeholder

Aroma and flavour descriptors

1Green tomato
2Cut grass
3Green almond
4Artichoke
5Fig leaf

Descriptors as published in variety catalogues and DOP specifications. Our panel has not scored this cultivar, so there are no intensity numbers here.

Ordered by how often each recurs in the published varietal literature, not by measured intensity. Our panel has not scored a monovarietal Picual oil, and no sensory panel data for it is published. 40 of the 40 varieties here read the same way.

Picual oils in the library

From 12 producers

All 20 →

Bottle of Nobleza del Sur Flor de Abeja Picual Bio extra virgin olive oil

In our shop

Andalusia · SpainNobleza del Sur Flor de Abeja Picual Bio

4.8

Bottle of Nobleza del Sur Eco Day extra virgin olive oil

In our shop

Andalusia · SpainNobleza del Sur Eco Day

4.7

Bottle of Nobleza del Sur Novo extra virgin olive oil

In our shop

Andalusia · SpainNobleza del Sur Novo

4.7

Picual against the other Spain varieties

Open in compare

Variety	Origin region	Used for	Polyphenols	Shelf stability
Picual	Jaén, Andalusia	Oil	300–700 mg/kg	Very high — over 55 h Rancimat
Arbequina	Les Garrigues, Lleida, Catalonia	Oil	200–230 mg/kg	Low — 29.8 h Rancimat
Hojiblanca	Lucena, Córdoba, Andalusia	Dual-purpose	280–820 mg/kg	High — Rancimat mean 73 h, falling with ripeness
Cornicabra	Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha	Oil	~630 mg/kg	Very high — over 55 h Rancimat
Picudo	Córdoba, Andalusia	Dual-purpose	Not published	Low (nursery-level assessment; no Rancimat figure published)
Manzanilla de Sevilla	Guadalquivir valley, Seville	Table	Not published	Not published
Empeltre	Bajo Aragón, Ebro valley	Dual-purpose	Not published	Not published
Royal de Cazorla	Sierra de Cazorla, Jaén	Oil	~156 mg/kg (single study)	Not published

Sources

Every figure on this page carries a source. Where we could not find one we say so rather than estimating. Corrections are welcome and credited.

Map · Jaén, Andalusia

Jaén, Andalusia · 37.8° N, 3.8° W