This French oil comes to us courtesy of Mort Rosenblum, an Associated Press foreign correspondent and the author of Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit. He knows Eric, who lives near him in Provence, and Mort gives this oil his highest endorsement. "Eric's olives are immaculate, tended by a full-time staff, and they are pressed at my favorite mill, Gervasoni's at Aups."

Eric's oil is from the Northern part of Provence. A place less frequented by tourists, with a terrain sometimes described as bleak. Prevailing wisdom says harsher terrains make better oils, Eric's is certainly an oil worth tasting. Like the region it comes from, it might not have as ardent a following as Maussane olive oil, but it is just as interesting.

The oil is delicious. The 2009 pressing is very fruity, with aromas of green apples and pears. The flavor is buttery with a gentle but distinctive olive fruit flavor and mild notes of pepper. Nice notes of spice in the finish tickle your nose like champagne bubbles. It's bottled unfiltered and pours very cloudy, common practice for the region. This tastes of pure Provence.

"Like Catherine Deneuve: silky, subtle, quintessentially French."
Francine Maroukian, Travel & Leisure