Ancestral Fruit

In Portugal’s wild heartlands of Alentejo, a restored 19th century farm and boutique hotel is honouring its heritage by taking olive oil production to new heights.

Words: Shanna McGoldrick • Photography: © Sanda Vuckovic Pagaimo

Alentejo is a wild place. This southern region of Portugal, which stretches from the Atlantic coast to the Spanish border, has an alluring remoteness about it that is enhanced by its hilly, untamed landscapes. That it feels a world away from Lisbon – and fiercely independent – should come as no surprise: with an agricultural history that dates back to the Neolithic age, this is a place that has held its own against the test of time.

The proof, should you need it, is in the olives. Or rather, the olive trees – which are ubiquitous in these parts; millions of them spread across the region with their delicate silvery leaves and chalk white, twisted trunks marking the entrance to villages, lining roads and decorating the fields with their shady groves. Alentejo, renowned for producing some of the world’s finest olive oil, is home to several trees that are estimated to be 2,000 years old or more.

There are more than 6,600 olive trees at São Lourenço do Barrocal, a 780-hectare estate that has been operating as a working farm since 1820 and additionally, since 2016, a plush 40-key 19th century hotel, winery and spa. The land has been in the same family for eight generations, having been purchased 200 years ago from the royal family and turned into a self-sufficient farming community that in its day was equipped with its own kiln, bakery, schoolroom, flour mill and vineyard. The property has experienced its fair share of instability – Portugal’s political turbulence in the 1970s saw it briefly renationalised by the state – but it has now been back in the hands of the owner, lead developer José António Uva and his family for decades, undergoing,

LUIS LOBATO DE FARIA

in recent years, a lengthy and considered restoration process that not only respects but continues the narrative of its ancient ecological heritage.

“We weren’t interested in doing this project if it was just going to be a hotel,” explains Uva of the renovation works that saw him work with archaeologists, landscapers and architects to subtly transform the low, white buildings of the ‘monte’ farming village into an understated yet luxurious property comprising a winery, a series of expansive guestrooms and residences, a high-ceilinged bar and a pared-back restaurant, not to mention the outdoor pool, sumptuous spa and shop. Instead, the undertaking could more accurately be described as a cultural heritage project; a labour of love that strives to bring the principles of its original purpose into a modern hospitality setting.

Today, Barrocal is almost as self-sufficient as it was in its farming heyday: an extensive vegetable garden means that the estate once again grows much of its own produce, while beehives provide the restaurants with honey and 15 hectares of vineyards produce up to 80,000 litres of organic wine each year.

Alongside the wines – whose local grape varieties include Roupeiro, Arinto, Touriga Nacional and Aragonez – olives have long been another of São Lourenço do Barrocal’s main exports. The hotel usually produces around 160,000 kilos of olives per year, yielding approximately 1,000 bottles of organic extra-virgin olive oil annually – but now, for the first time in decades, the process will take place completely onsite, with Barrocal’s agricultural team harvesting, cold-pressing and bottling within the walls of the estate. The move is thanks to the launch of a brand new olive oil mill that began to produce its first batch of bottles in the Autumn/Winter 2022 season.

Naturally, hotel guests will benefit from the new addition, with plans for a variety of immersive olivethemed experiences in the works. These will range from the chance to join Barrocal’s groundworkers in harvesting the olives from the trees using a traditional, low-intervention method that involves shaking the fruit from the branches with a rod, followed by masterclasses in seasoning that will also expose guests to the property’s homegrown herbs such as oregano, myrtle or orange blossom. Finally there will be trips to the mill to observe the more mechanical stages of the process in which the fruits are crushed, ground to a paste and separated via centrifuge. Al fresco tasting sessions featuring the various oils produced will round out the experience.

Two varieties of olives have traditionally grown on the estate: the plump green Bical, and the smaller, darker Galega. “In Portugal there are maybe 30 varieties of olive; in this region we only use around five, and 80% of what’s used here for the oil is Galega,” explains Luis Lobato de Faria, a historian who conducts guided tours of the Barrocal estate for guests. The hotel uses both in its olive oil production, creating a 100% Bical DOP, a 100% Galega version and a blend of both. The mill uses a low impact coldpressing process that preserves the olives’ specific organoleptic properties and individual flavour profiles, while the absence of filtration methods ensures a strong presence of vitamin E and other natural antioxidants. Anything under 27 degrees falls into the category of cold-pressing, Lobato de Faria explains, while the ‘extra-virgin’ label applies to oils with an acidity level of 0.8% or lower. “Acidity is going to destroy the oil faster and it’s bad for your health,” he says. “The oil produced at São Lourenço do Barrocal usually has an acidity of 0.5% or less.”

São Lourenço do Barrocal’s sunkissed ancient olive groves can be explored on foot or by horseback

Lobato de Faria has been taking guests on tours of the estate’s olive groves for some time, teaching them about the centuries-old trees – many of them ancient millenary trees – onsite and weaving tales about Alentejo’s agricultural heritage, ancestral farming traditions and socio-political history generously through the conversation. His olive grove tour begins in São Lourenço do Barrocal’s old mill before moving through the grounds, examining some of its most enduring and beguiling trees and touching upon the various methods that go into protecting, maintaining and harvesting the stock. The experience, which wraps up with a tasting session that features all three of the hotel’s blends, is immensely popular with guests. “People already have an idea of Portuguese wine,” he explains of the growing interest in the topic. “Now they are starting to understand that the olive oil is also very good.” The tour offers a fascinating insight into the rituals that have shaped Alentejo, taking in several of the imposing ancient rocks known as ‘barrocais’ – many of them sacred – that lie dotted around the estate, often half-burrowed between a band of olive trees. Thought to date back to the Neolithic era, they have been sites of worship since pre-Pagan times and represent a link to a past that incorporated the Iron and Bronze Age through to Roman and Moorish occupations of Portugal. Lobato de Faria is also a wealth of knowledge when it comes to educating guests about the various species of trees and the history of their importation, pointing out that domestic olive trees that have been grafted onto wild ones, with the newer plant effectively growing inside the ultra-resistant skin of the original and often resulting in a single tree that bears two different types of fruit.

Alentejo, which is home to the largest olive grove in the world, takes its olives very seriously indeed, and the guide spins yarns about the fruit’s ancient uses over the centuries. “Olive oil here is very important; it was used for rituals as a sacred oil, and for healing, cosmetics, providing lamplight and also for food – which

© Ash James

© Ash James

Olive oil features heavily in the hotel’s culinary offering, with al fresco tasting sessions a popular guest activity

is the main use today,” he explains. “This is the land of olive oil.” Naturally, the golden nectar takes a starring role in the hotel’s guest offering, appearing on the spa menu where it is infused with organic herbs for added relaxation, and in the onsite shop, where guests can stock up before the journey home. It also features heavily in the culinary programme. It’s no coincidence that São Lourenço was the patron saint of cooking – the property is passionate about its reputation for gastronomy, and olive oil is used liberally throughout its breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. “Olive oil is the basis of Portuguese food, especially in the Alentejo,” explains Head Chef Nuno Fernandes, who works alongside Executive Chef Celestino Grave on curating the acclaimed seasonal menus. “Every savoury dish here contains our olive oil – and even some of the desserts. It’s part of our heritage; both at the hotel and within the region.” At the farm-to-table restaurant – a simple, rustic affair that belies the delicacy of its gastronomic approach – the focus is on authentic local dishes made with the freshest seasonal produce. Highlights on the autumnal menu include Barrocal veal tartare with horseradish mayonnaise, a simple pumpkin soup featuring vegetables from the garden, and duck served with Alentejo pork sausages and creamy barley. But one of the most striking dishes is served before the meal begins, when diners are presented with a helping of artisanal Alentejo bread, a bowl of lightly seasoned, glistening olives, and a saucer of silky, golden-green oil for dipping. Additional highlights include a moist, crumbly olive cake, a Portuguese speciality.

The decision to invest in a functioning olive mill at São Lourenço do Barrocal is proof of the long-term vision at play here – after all, as Uva points out: “You nurture olive groves for your kids.” This sense of continuity, of preserving a sustainable link between the past and the future, runs like a thread through this hotel and its desire to honour its history while sharing the fruits of its heritage with its guests.

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