Gran Insignia is an extra virgin olive oil which is produced from the picual and manzanilla varieties of olive, native to the province of Jaén. The olive groves benefit from a mild, subtropical climate typical of the Mediterranean.

Thanks to these factors the oil produced is of a full body with the olive a green colour which has a medium intensity of both bitterness and spiciness.

These family run olive farms are situated at the very heart of the sierra Mágina. Olives grown on the high sierra, or mountains, as opposed to the flat lands, have very distinctive characteristics, contributing to the uniqueness of our final product. On the olive grove of the high sierra it is impossible to apply modern intensive farming techniques; instead the olives are farmed using old, craft-like methods which result in a product of superior quality. These are the reasons why our olives are collected from the protected Denominación de Origen.

Starting with the collection of the fruit from the tree, the olive is harvested in a craft-like process at its optimum maturity. Generally this process is undertaken by the local population.

The olives that are picked from the tree are separated from the ones that have fallen onto the ground and then taken directly to the olive mill .Once the olive is classified (tree and those fallen) they are separated according to their different qualities before being put through a cleaning process which separates the olive from the stalk and leaves.

The olive continues its journey on to the washing machines, where, in different stages the small impurities are eliminated before they go on to the milling stage. There is no storage of the olive, in this way the fruit is fresh, does not deteriorate in any way and conserves all its original qualities.

After the olive is cleaned the olive juice is obtained through a cold press (at low temperatures). From this process a mixture of oil and water is produced. Lastly, this mixture gets separated in a vertical centrifuge, giving the desired result: authentic, natural olive juice.

At the moment of storage and bottling, the oil is classified by its level of acidity (determined by the approved body of the Denominación de Origen) and the gastronomic values (determined by a panel of tasters authorized by the regulatory body). Only those olive oils which meet the established high standards go on to be bottled.

An excellent natural olive juice is obtained from the extraction process in which it is normal to see tones of green (leaf, grass, stem, branch and mauve) and also a light taste and smell of apples. The flavor is fresh and pleasing with an excellent level of acidity (just 0.2%) which leaves the palate with a pleasing and prolonged after taste. This low acidity level is achieved from converting the olive into olive oil in under 24 hours, from harvesting the olive tree to its storage in bottles.

The olive oil which is obtained from the picual variety of olive is the most stable, in its composition of fatty acids, its quantity of natural anti-dioxidents, its high content of monounsaturated oleic acid, its high content of poli- phenols, and vitamins A, E, D and K.

It is one of the few oils that maintain its natural and nutritious properties over the duration of time, allowing the consumer to benefit from these qualities whenever they chose.

These special characteristics convert Aceites Gran Insignia into the perfect accompaniment to dressings and salads, the best way in which to fry food and to enrich the most exquisite dishes.

INFORME ANÁLISIS QUÍMICO Y ORGANOLÉPTICO

Nº DE INFORME INF/06/0415 IDENTIFICACIÓN MUESTRA TM/CRSM/06/00/0419 FECHA MUESTRA 16/03/2006

REALIZADO POR EL SERVICIO DE LABORATORIO C.R.D.O. SIERRA MÁGINA

16/03/2006