A family-owned business committed to nurturing their land for generations to come.
Our story
The intersection
of legacy and terroir
For five generations and over 100 years, the Carvalho family has farmed a distinct olive grove in Vila Boim in the North Alentejo Region of Portugal.
At the heart of Vila 1903, is a deep belief in the land and in the tried and true process of making olive oil as it was passed on by the previous generations. Without any compromise to quality, they are finally making small lots of ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil, for your enjoyment.
The Carvalho family is committed to remaining a family-owned business and to nurturing their land for generations to come.
“For as long as we remember, our family's olive oil was at the center of the dinner table. It has been a privilege to grow up with this tradition and to become closer to the process of how our land is farmed and how the olive oil is produced. It is our wish to make a mark on our family legacy by bottling our estate olive oil and sharing it with the world.”
Our land
For the love of the land
At the heart of Vila 1903 is a deep belief in the land and what it provides. We believe it starts in the grove. We have taken care of this land with respect for its biodiversity for five generations. There is no compromise with how we nurture it.
Our olive grove is located on the outskirts of the quiet town of Vila Boim. Our trees produce Galega and Cobrançosa olives, high-quality, traditional Portuguese varietals that result in fresh, fruit-forward, peppery olive oil.
Our olive groves still have the original 1903 plantation layout, which means that each tree occupies 64 sqm, compared to modern olive groves where each tree may occupy as little as 2 sqm. This allows each tree room to breathe, so it can gather more nutrients from the soil, without the need for constant irrigation.
The year-round warmer temperatures of the region, alongside rainy winters provide the foundation for our ecosystem. With Mother Nature at our side, we do our best to allow the grove to thrive with minimal intervention. New growth usually begins in April. Our olives start blooming in the summer and are ripe once the temperature starts to drop in autumn. Harvest typically happens during the wet months. Everything is hand-picked with care to ensure the integrity of the olives during the process.
Our product
Decanted, not filtered
After so much care in nature, extracting the oil from these olives is an art in showing the best of the fruit. All of our olives are processed within 24 hours, with all the attention to detail necessary to meet the highest standards of quality. This includes hand-separating leaves and branches, maintaining ideal temperatures, and lastly, our hallmark of quality: the filtering process. Vila 1903 is decanted, not filtered. For 8 long months, the olive oil is untouched, while it is slowly decanted by gravity.
The resulting product is truly unique: an olive oil that is deep gold and green in color, and medium-full bodied in texture. Vila 1903 has been known to produce an awakening in the person tasting it, an “a-ha” moment, if you will. The combination of terroir, density, acidity and color provide a deep and unique sensory experience, and it may just be like no olive oil you have ever tasted before. Please enjoy.
Shop nowThe predisposition of our terroir, combined with respectful farming practices, and high-touch production, ultimately yield higher flavor concentrations and a better quality olive oil.