Tel. 973 15 60 13 | Oli d'oliva Verge Extra L'Espluga Calba

The Espluguense Agricultural Cooperative

History

In the shallow abysses and sunny dry stone terraces, almond and olive trees grow majestically, a legacy of our ancestors who with perseverance and dedication built stone and stone terraces, generations of hard-working farmers who fought against many adversities, frosts and droughts and are part of our history.

In 1957 a few peasants, tired of bringing their fruits to the merchants and receiving a low price, decided to form the cooperative. They rented a small place that had been an old mill before the war. These were very difficult times and with a lot of work and effort they bought land and built a first ship. Since then we have been expanding and modernizing the facilities and machinery. We currently have about 160 members in the cooperative and produce oil and wine.

With grapes we are inside the D.O. Costers del Segre and the D.O. of Cava. With its Macabeo and Parellada varieties we make famous cavas.

A mountainous landscape

L’Espluga Calba is a municipality in Les Garrigues, in the high sector of the region, at an altitude of 434m, on the western slope of the Sierra del Tallat, bordering the Conca de Barbera and Urgell. Half of the district is pine forests and the rest are rainfed crops.

The orography of the term is very varied, from elevated ground planes
stony to valleys of fresh land where olive trees are grown,
some centenarians, almond trees, cereals and vines.

Our trees grow in places far from polluting industries, surrounded by pine forests, which purify the air and bring balsamic qualities to the crops around them.

The Espluguesque olive groves are surrounded by aromatic plants such as rosemary, lavender, thyme and an incredible variety of native flora characteristic of the intersection of the Mediterranean climate with the continental one. The soil has a high mineral content that nourishes the trees and gives body to the fruits.

Climate of contrasts

The climate is very contrasting, the winter is very cold, it snows for many years and at night the temperatures drop below zero. This is beneficial for farmers because many insect pests do not withstand these colds and thus save on chemical treatments.

Spring is a delight, the weather is temperate and the fields look like gardens, with the full range of wildflowers. The summers are very hot, with strong sunshine but we are in a special area where the difference from day to night can be 20º, and luckily in the afternoon the fresh and humid marinade arrives and so the crops are revived.

The olives ripen in the autumn and these temperature fluctuations during the campaign strengthen the plants and give a very special taste to the oil and wine.