The brothers Cassini, Vittorio and Enzo, are passionate about the olive oil they produce. Their passion has brought the family’s olive oil to new heights. The Cassini farm is tucked in the craggy hills above the Liguirian coast between Nice and Genoa and is surrounded by a forest of pine and chestnut trees. The Cassini ancestors planted the original taggiasca olive trees high on the hillside. The taggiasca trees thrive under moderate climate conditions at elevations of between 400 and 600 meters above sea level. This area of the Italian coastline with its sub-tropical breezes and temperate climate provides ideal conditions for the delicate taggiasca cultivar. The Cassini family has been producing olive oil for seven generations primary for the family’s own consumption.
Vittorio and Enzo have a deep-set passion for Ligurian cuisine. Growing up, the brothers were exposed to the incredible bounty their farm produced and its simple use in the kitchen of the family’s restaurant. As young adults, the brothers set off for London were they worked with some of the best chefs in the City. Vittorio and Enzo understood the passion these chefs had for great ingredients and decided they would introduce the chefs to the family’s olive oil. Soon the word spread and famous London based chefs such as Jamie Oliver were adding the oil to their restaurant pantries. The Cassini brothers were excited by the response to the olive oil, and decided to re-energize the largely laten efforts of olive oil production on their family farm. In 1999 Vittorio returned to Liguruia to devote himself to the restoration and expansion of the olive orchard on the Cassini farm to improve production and offer the product to a slightly larger market.
Vittorio started by planting additional taggiasca trees and carefully trimming the existing trees his ancestors had planted. A new frantoio was built allowing for better control of the oil quality at pressing time. Vittorio and his father carefully monitor the olive crop for ripeness. They pick 60% of the crop at the green stage and the remainder of the crop at the black- purple stage. The picked fruit is rushed to the farm’s frantoio for processing within 12 hours of harvesting. The extraction method is the Continuous cycle system. The oils are later blended to create the signature style that is Cassini. The Cassini oil is offered in limited supply, as the entire production is just 10,000 bottles per harvest. The oil is golden green with notes of fresh almonds, white pepper and artichoke on the nose and palette, and a clean sweet buttery finish. This delicate oil lends well to fish and vegetable dishes, and of course, will create the quintessential pesto, a classic of the region.
Olive cultivar: 100% Taggiasca olives
500 ml/16.9 oz
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