Where: Cocentaina, Alicante, Spain

Hectares: 14

Olive trees: ~1,000

Primary cultivars: Alfafarenca, Blanqueta, Genovasa, Manzanilla & Acebucha

Single or multiple orchards: Single

In the mountains in Cocentaina, Alicante, Spain is the Moltó family orchard. Amongst 14 hectares, approximately 1,000 trees exist consisting of varieties Alfafarenca, Blanqueta, Genovasa, Manzanilla & Acebucha (this Spanish word refers to a wild, unknown variety).

The orchard is evenly divided (seven hectares each) between siblings Guillermina Moltó Jordá and José Manuel Moltó Jordá (the grandchildren of the original proprietors in the family, married couple, Manuel Moltó Serra and Teresa Valor Serra, both deceased) on one side and Enrique Moltó Valor, b. 1932 (one of  the two sons of Manuel Moltó and Teresa Valor) on the other. Guillermina and José Manuel Moltó are the children of deceased couple, Manuel Moltó Valor b. 1921 and Josefa Jordá. (Manuel Moltó is the other son of Manuel Moltó and Teresa Valor) On the Enrique Moltó family side, the orchard is principally cultivated by Enrique’s children, Ana Moltó Mantero, b. 1960 and Enrique Alfonso Moltó Mantero, b. 1971, a professor of Geography at the University of Alicante.

Ownership

Historically, the orchard was owned by Arabs up until circa 1276 when its ownership, like much of the region, passed over to the Kingdom of Aragon during the Reconquista period. A structural artifact indicating Arabic ownership is a type of horizontally designed water well built into a mountain slope—a distinctive design for this group of people—which was formerly used for humans and animals to consume water. Moreover, it supported the transportation of water to the fountain.

Current ownership

In 1942, Manuel Moltó Serra (noted above) purchased the land from a family of doctors from Alcoy, whose head of the family was Juan Segura. As a remnant of the Segura family ownership, an embellished steel door that Juan Segura built remains at the entrance of the family orchard home today.

The orchard produces Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil at nearby La Cooperativa Agrícola Católica (which uses the brand mark Oli El Comtat) in Cocentaina, Alicante.