Picudo
The soft, aromatic counterweight in the great Córdoba blends. Picudo is what gives DOP Priego de Córdoba and DOP Baena their sweet entry — and its pollen quality makes it a standard pollinator in mixed Andalusian orchards.
In the grove
Picudo is the characteristic variety of the Subbética — the Priego de Córdoba and Baena country — and is also grown in Jaén, Granada and Málaga. Official Spanish figures put it at 21,023 hectares, though nursery sources give a considerably higher number across those four provinces; the discrepancy is unresolved. It ripens late and holds onto its fruit, which complicates mechanical harvest.
Two things make it valuable. Its oil is aromatic and notably low in bitterness, which is why it is almost always blended with the firmer Hojiblanca and Picual rather than bottled alone. And its pollen has high germinative capacity, so it earns its place in an orchard twice over. The published data stops there: no institutional source gives a polyphenol range or an oleic acid figure for Picudo, and we will not borrow one from marketing copy.
Compared with the other reference cultivars
| Cultivar | Origin | Typical polyphenols | Sensory profile | Best pairing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picudo | Córdoba, Spain | Not published | Aromatic and sweet, very little bitterness | Desserts, fresh cheese, delicate fish |
| 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 |
| Manzanilla de Sevilla | Seville, Spain | Not published | Grown for the table; oil rarely bottled monovarietal | The olive itself — vermouth, tapas |
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.