These are the best extra virgin olive oils from Malaga province this year

Olive oil mills Finca La Torre, Terraverne and El Labrador have been named the best producers of extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) in Malaga province.

Meanwhile, Hacienda de Colchado received a special mention at the Diputación's 22nd XXII Awards for the Best EVOO in the province on Thursday 21 December. The tasting and announcement of the jury's decision took place at the Castillo del Marqués school of catering in Vélez-Málaga.

The judging panel was chaired by the director of Sabor a Málaga, Leonor García-Agua, and comprised Anunciación Carpio, biologist and specialist in oils; Brígida Jiménez, director of the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training of the regional Andalusian government; Diego Rivas, agricultural engineer; and Francisco Lorenzo Tapia, doctor and expert in community nutrition and president of the Olearum association.

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The jury decided between 21 varieties of oil submitted to the competition by 13 olive oil mills: five varieties of intense green fruity oil; nine varieties of medium green fruity oil and seven varieties of ripe fruity oil. After the public tasting, the jury awarded, in the intense green fruity category, the Finca La Torre Selección Hojiblanca oil, an oil with "intense green olive fruitiness of great complexity between herbaceous, vegetable and green fruit notes, with artichoke, green banana and alloza standing out".

The winner in the medium green fruity category was Terraverne's 555, "with notes of wild plants such as mallow and herbaceous plants such as artichoke and green tomato". In the category of ripe fruitiness, the jury chose La Laguna de Fuente de Piedra oil from El Labrador, "a ripe olive oil with green citrus notes, tropical fruits and red fruits, and with an aftertaste of dried fruits.

The jury also awarded a runner-up prize in the intense green fruity category to the oil Legado de Hacienda de Colchado, "an intense fruity green olive, olive leaf and vegetable oil, predominantly artichoke, tomato and red pepper, with citrus and green almond notes".

The prize is worth 24,500 euros (7,500 euros for each of the three categories and 2,000 euros for the first runner-up). The winning EVOOs will also display a reference to the award on their labelling and will be included in the national and international promotion and marketing circuit of the Sabor a Málaga brand.