The House of Álvarez de Toledo, the name behind Marqués de Valdueza olive oil
The growing of olive trees for oil production is an ancient art dating back to the invention of agriculture, passed on from generation to generation for millenia in the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Some olive groves are several centuries old, their precious trees seemingly shrouded in mystique.
Produced since 1624 by the House of Álvarez de Toledo on their Perales estate, in Spain, Marqués de Valdueza is one of the olive oils refined according to the rules of the art for centuries. It goes without saying that this oil was born out of a remarkably rich history.
This month, we take you behind the scenes to meet one of Spain’s great noble families and discover their unparallelled oil with a unique story.
The roots of the House of Álvarez de Toledo
Our journey begins some 1,000 years ago, in 1085 to be exact. That year, the first Álvarez whose name was recorded in history, Pedro, count of Carrión, fought alongside King Alfonso VI to take back the city of Toledo from the Moors. After this victory, Pedro Álvarez stayed in Toledo as mayor and representative of the the king. From then on, the appellative “de Toledo” was added to the name of the Álvarez lineage.
According to the Chronicles of the Reconquest, Pedro was the son of the Byzantine emperor Isaac Komnenos and had travelled to the Iberian Peninsula to free Christendom from the invaders. The Chronicles relate that Pedro Álvarez, the Byzantine prince, even fought alongside the famous Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, better known by his nickname “El Cid”. King Alfonso VI rewarded Pedro Álvarez for his bravery with properties and titles, marking the founding of the House of Álvarez de Toledo.
Pages and pages of history
Let us transport ourselves a few centuries later, to the XVth century, as Spain is unified under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The aristocratic Álvarez deToledo family already reigns over thousands of square kilometers in different part of the Iberian Peninsula. A new member of the family, Duke Fadrique, is about to mark a new page in the history of Spain.
Related by blood to both Ferdinand and Isabella, Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo was one of their main advisors. He played a major part in the reconquest of Granada in 1492 as well as in the decision to send Christopher Columbus across the ocean that same year.
The Álvarez de Toledo family and the discoverer of the American continent enjoyed such a close relationship that Columbus’s only legitimate son, Diego, married Fadrique’s granddaughter, María. Today, the descendants of the great admiral’s seven legitimate heirs, born to Diego Columbus and María Álvarez de Toledo, are spread out in various parts of Europe and the Americas.
At the beginning of the XVIIth century, when a single king reigned over Spain and Portugal, the Dutch attempted to invade Brazil with the largest fleet ever to cross the Atlantic. Leading the joint luso-hispanic forces was another Álvarez de Toledo, admiral Fadrique, named after his ancestor. As a reward for defeating the fleet, Fadrique received lands and the title of Marquis of Valdueza.
The making of the Marquis’s olive oil
One of the Marquis of Valdueza’s holdings is an estate in the town of Perales, settled by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, where an excellent olive oil has been produced throughout the region’s recorded history. The marquis’s olive oil was first produced in 1624, on the very same estate as the Marqués de Valdueza oil we know today. Nowadays, it is yet another Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, son of the current marquis and heir to the title, who oversees production.
Marqués de Valdueza is an extra-virgin olive oil characterized by a moderate fruitiness, enhanced by both green and mature notes. It features light aromas of apple, green tomato, cut grass and green almonds, with stronger notes of mature almond and fruit. On the palate, it is sweet and lightly bitter at first, followed by slightly more piquant and almondy notes, extremely well balanced with a long, persistent aftertaste.
In addition to Marqués de Valdueza oil, prized by chefs and kings the world over and recipient of many awards and distinctions, the house of Álvarez de Toledo also produces Merula olive oil as well as several other superior products, such as vinegars and red and white wines, since the family holdings also comprise a few centuries-old vineyards.
Many discerning olive oil consumers already know the house of Álvarez de Toledo for its exclusive extra-virgin oil, but it is worth remembering that the family, related to saints, poets, conquerers, kinds and Europe’s most influent clergy, has its own rich past and was involved in numerous events marking the course of history.
Indeed, when a dish is enhanced with Marqués de Valdueza extra-virgin olive oil, it is as if a little bit of history was drizzling out of the bottle.
