Villa Montalbano is a privately owned Single Estate near Pistoia, roughly midway between Pisa and Florence, in the northern part of the Chianti region. Three ‘cultivars’ of olive are grown on the estate, Lecco, Frantoio and Murioli; the ratio of these varieties gives their oil its distinctive flavour and colour. The trees are hand pruned in the spring and the oil harvested in late October through to late December. The olives are hand picked with the help of local families, who are repaid generously with up to half of the picked crop. The oil is then taken to be milled that same day to prevent any degradation, at the local 'Frantoio' co-operative mill. The olives are pressed mechanically ensuring the Extra Virgin status of the oil is preserved. The required maximum acidity for Extra Virgin Oil is 0.8% but Villa Montalbano regularly produces an oil under 0.2%.