Picudo (the 'beaked' olive, for its pointed tip) is prized in the Córdoba PDOs of Baena and Priego for an unusually sweet, fragrant oil. Expect a basket of ripe and exotic fruit — apple, tropical notes, even a whisper of melon — with soft almond and only a gentle bitterness and pepper. It is often blended with the firmer Picual and Hojiblanca to round them out, but on its own it makes one of Spain's most aromatic, dessert-friendly oils.
Sweet and fragrant: tropical fruit, apple and almond, very little bite.
Picked through November and December. Buy the freshest crop you can find — and check the harvest date on the bottle.