Il Silene
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Technical Features




+ "denocciolato":
Tuscany, generally recognized as the pinnacle of the art of olive oil production, remains at the forefront of technological innovation, combined cutting edge methodology with traditional husbandry.

+ single estate:
"for generations my family have farmed our olive grove, on the slopes of Monte Amiata; we continue to fertilize our trees, using manure from our stables. Laying out large nets we position tall ladders into the trees and pick each olive by hand. Our olives are are then milled immediately. The milling of the olives respects a rigid but absolutely necessary discipline in order to give us a perfect product."

+ mono- cultivar:
"Il Silene" e.v.o.o is produced exclusively from the "Olivastra Seggianese"olive cultivar. This cultivar was introduced to the territory by the monks of the local abbey in the 10th  century,where it flourishes to this day. "My farm is situated at  1350 feet above sea-level, where the cold north winds inhibit the occurrence of the olive fly, thus allowing us to cultivate our olive grove without the use of pesticides".

+ cold extraction-"denocciolato":
The "denocciolato" system of olive oil production (literally "without seed-stone") involves removing the stone prior to extracting the oil in order to maximize the quality.  A chemical analysis shows "Il Silene" e.v.o.o to be extremely rich is poliphenols, the critical anti-aging agent. It is also very high in mono-unsaturates.  Both these elements lead to an e.v.o.o rich in flavour and an essential element in a healthy diet.
Roberto  is rightly proud of his family's oil and has produced a limited edition, bottled in a 100ml bottle to allow everyone the opportunity to taste the freshness of a truly great Tuscan olive oil.


IL SILENE - HARVEST 2008



+ Extra virgin de-stoned olive oil from the Seggiano olivastra Monocultivar.....comes from Seggiano - but is found all over the world.

+ This has been very good year, one of those that progresses perfectly. At Il Silene at the beginning of September we were already aware that our olives would be producing an excellent oil. Precisely in those first ten days of that month the cold 'tramontana' wind from the north-east was blowing. Temperatures were below 10°C during the night so we were sure then that the oil fly would not be visiting our olive groves.

+ The harvesting went very quickly and it was less hard work than usual, due to the great satisfaction of seeing such fine fruit, at the right degree of maturity.

+ The olives were gathered in open boxes, as this is our usual method, and taken straight to the oil mill to be worked. As in the other years the fruit was first de-stoned and then the extra virgin "Il Silene 2008" was extracted.

+ Colour - gold - with light green reflections. The perfumes are those typical of our oil: exceptional sensations of freshly cut grass, artichoke, cayenne, tomato leaf and the same unmistakable smell of the fresh olives that run through our hands during the harvest!

+ Gastronomic combinations for the 2008/09 oil:
Very often one looks for the most scenic combinations in order to communicate the quality of a product, but for this year I wish to propose some combinations that are very simple and very Italian:

Spaghetti 'al dente' taken off the heat and tossed in extra virgin il Silene oil with 'parmigiano stravecchio' matured for at least 36 months: it's delirious! The trick in this dish is in the tossing of the pasta, still very hot, in the oil with just a little of the cooking water and then immediately tossing it with the 'parmigiano stravecchio' and grinding some pepper over it.

Boiled beans - dressed with a generous spoonful of extra virgin oil Silene 2008.

Any type of fish - steamed and dressed with a line of oil.

A fried egg - (a recipe at the limit, because our oil should really be used uncooked)

Roberto Rossi
chef / olive oil producer in Seggiano