Moulin Pattus olive oil mill visit tasting

Moulin Pattus sits in Aigues-Vives, a handful of kilometres from La Maison d'à Coté, in the southern Gard between the Mediterranean coast and the Cévennes. The domain has been producing wine and olive oil since the 1850s, with five generations of the same family working the same land. The mill itself (a modern extraction facility brought into operation in 2007) presses olives from around ten hectares of groves classified under the AOP de Nîmes and the Sud de France label. What makes Moulin Pattus particularly worth a visit is the range. Rather than a blended house oil, the mill produces four single-variety oils: Picholine, Aglandau, Négrette and Arbéquine; each with its own distinct character and best use. The owner, Denis Goellner, is direct about the differences: the Aglandau on a salad, the Picholine over tomatoes, the Bouteillan on a carpaccio, the Négrette with raw vegetables. It is a practical, unsentimental approach to something that the south takes entirely seriously. Oils are available to buy directly from the farm in sizes from 25cl to 5 litres. During harvest season, from October through to January, the mill is in production and the process is visible at its most active, the smell of fresh paste and the sound of the machinery are part of what makes this kind of visit different from simply buying at a market. Out of harvest, the shop remains open and the oils are available year-round. Contact the mill in advance if you want to arrange a visit around pressing season.