The state "Olivar del Azaraque"
LOCATION AND HISTORY
The estate “El Azaraque” is located at the last stretch of the river (Rio Mundo) before widening to finish at the Camarillas dam, inside the Hellin district of Albacete. “Azaraque” means “water source”in Arabic, as this area was already being cultivated by the Moors, evidence of channeling demonstrates this.
The estate is part of an extensive property belonging to descendants of the Ponce of Leon which, since Medieval times, has cultivated fruit trees and BOMBA rice on the right bank of the Rio Mundo, while cereals were grown on the left bank.
The southern side is flanked by the “Sierra de los Donceles and on the eastern side are the Volcanic mountains of Cancarix.
In the area there are archeological remains in the “Cuevas de Minateda”, and the Tolmo of the same name demonstrates that the area has been inhabited for a long time.
There are traces of olive growing over many hundreds of years with the remains of an olive mill in the ruins of the “Tolmo de Minateda” (1.500 A.C) which testaments to the existence of olive trees since time immemorial.
On the west and north the farm is surrounded by Calderones Montes.
Both the Sierra de los Donceles as the latter are covered by a dense pine forest between growing the most varied kinds of herbs: rosemary, thyme, lavender, spelled etc
The trees on the bank of river Mundo, poplars, elms and pines and rice paddies give the landscape an extraordinary beauty.
Azaraque means “water source” in Arabic
CHARACTERISTICS AND DESIGN
The Azaraque is located on both sides of the Rio Mundo 400 meters above sea level with limited rainfall. It´s climate is halfway between a Mediterranean and Continental climate, with cold winters, hot, dry summers and a short spring and autumn.
The presence of the river confers a special microclimate, a product of its complex orthography, as it is surrounded by mountains, volcanic in origin, highlighting its proximity to the PITON DE CANCARIX.
It also has a special combination of waters originating from diverse origins:
Fresh river water with a large quantity of organic material and subterranean water rich in minerals. Both are mixed in our reservoir.
ORGANIC PRODUCTION
In the same way that we are interested in better understanding the different varieties and properties of extra virgin olive in order to improve the health of the consumer, we are also interested in organic cultivation, therefore we are allocate the areas of production of the Arbequina and Hojiblanca olives that lie nearest to the organic cultivation of esparto vegetation and aromatic herbs.
We conceived the organic olive grove as a natural woodland with insects, birds, aromatic herbs, scrub and other trees on the boundaries, we don´t use any chemical products.
CAAE Y EL CAECV ( ES-ECO-020)
