Aceites Melgarejo

About Aceites Melgarejo

Records link the Melgarejo family to olive oil in Jaén from the 18th century, and the business, now Aceites Campoliva, is in its fifth generation. Its groves lie around Pegalajar on the edge of the Sierra Mágina Natural Park, where mountain Picual is picked early in the season for green, bitter and peppery oils. Alongside Picual it bottles Frantoio, Hojiblanca, Arbequina and organic oils, and sells oil-based preserves such as roasted peppers, tomato sauce and oil jam.

The visit opens with the history of the family and the mill, then follows production from milling and malaxing to extraction and storage. It ends with a guided tasting of early-harvest Picual that teaches how to spot fruitiness, bitterness and pungency. The longer pairing visit matches the oils with Melgarejo products and snacks from the area.

The standard visit lasts 60 to 90 minutes and costs €20 per adult and €15 per child (maximum 15 people); the pairing visit takes up to two hours and costs €25 and €20 (maximum 20). Visits run Monday to Friday 09:00–14:00 and 15:00–18:00 and Saturday 09:00–14:00; book by phone. The mill is on the ring road of Pegalajar, 20 minutes by car from Jaén.

October to December brings the early harvest that made the brand's name. Buy a bottle from the early-harvest range, and walk down to La Charca, the old irrigation pool below the village.

Aceites Melgarejo in pictures

What you’ll find

• Guided tourWinery or mill tour (€20–€25, 09:00–18:00)Book
• Olive oil millMill visitBook
• Premium tastingPremium tasting and pairing (€25)Book
• ShopProducts to buy (09:00–18:00)Buy
• Tapas and pairingFood pairingBuy
• TastingTasting session (€20)Book

Nearby places to visit

Pegalajar is known for La Charca, a stone water tank that feeds terraced market gardens, and for its cave houses, both a short walk from the mill. Jaén is 14 km south-west: Jaén Cathedral, the Renaissance masterpiece of Andrés de Vandelvira, the Arab Baths of Jaén under the Palacio de Villardompardo, and the Museo Íbero, Jaén are all 14 km away. The hilltop Castillo de Santa Catalina, Jaén is 15 km away. Oleícola San Francisco, the 1927 mill in Begíjar near Baeza, is 29 km north, and Alcalá Oliva (Museo del Aceite de Oliva) is 42 km south-west.