Santos Nature Olive Oil

The history of Quinta Castelar began in the mid-nineteenth century. Francisco Ismael do Santos, born in Remondes, married my grandmother Laurentina Gomes, born in Pereira. Both teachers and farmers at the same time, they began the expansion of the Quinta in parallel with the schools they founded in Póvoa de Varzim, Braga and Mirandela, in the first decades of the last century. In 1922, in Porto, my father, Júlio Carlos Gomes dos Santos, was born, to whom I dedicate this entire initiative, namely the launch of this new brand of olive oil, “A dos Santos”. Since he was a little boy, he was in love with the Quinta, in the lands of Pereira, in the region of Trás-os-Montes. Olive oil, the Quinta's main product today, has always been the main aspect of that passion, given its natural qualities and all its recognized benefits.

The village of Pereira, municipality of Mirandela is well located in the heart of Trás-os-Montes at an altitude between 450 and 600m. It will perhaps be the region where the best and most awarded olive oils in the world are produced. In this Eucharistic village, it is difficult to find abandoned land. We do come across beautiful Centenary Olive Groves along with recent plantations of traditional Olive groves. The typical varieties of Trás-os-Montes that also predominate in this region and in particular in Quinta Castelar, are Cobrançosa and Verdeal and Madural Transmontanas.
The “Blend” that we refined and that we are now launching, is composed of these same cultivars. In this way, we maintain tradition, in a natural way, and focus on Innovation and Quality, through a careful selection of the fruit, the time of harvest, the methods, the mill and the partners with whom we begin this adventure.

Not considering the Centenary Olive Trees, some of which are certainly over 300 years old, the vast majority of Olive Groves were already planted by my Grandparents who embarked on the adventure of agriculture expanding the Quinta to its current 42 Hectares of land. Along with the Wine that we temporarily stopped producing, it was the Almond and Olive Groves that helped keep the Quinta alive. My father, a judge, reconciled the sometimes arduous task of keeping the Quinta alive with his career. In turn, my mother, guardian of the family and name of the agricultural company “Herdeiros de Maria Amélia Dias de Castro Fernandes” always accompanied and supported my father in these designs. Now, it is up to other generations to continue this story, adding value and innovating. In this sense, in 2020 we are committed to an earlier harvest and strict control of the entire value chain. In close collaboration with “Casa de Santo Amaro”, we work to obtain an elegant olive oil with a high content of polyphenols, with exceptional quality.

As my nephew, Guilherme dos Santos, says:
“Oil of the Saints! … Not Proving is a Sin”