Discover the Olive Oil Producers of the Alpilles a Driving Tour by Village
“The origin of the olive tree is lost in time, coinciding and mingling with the expansion of the Mediterranean civilizations which for centuries governed the destiny of mankind and left their imprint on Western culture.” ~ International Olive Council
Olives of Provence
If you like olives, wine, and beautiful vistas, a driving or cycling tour around the Alpilles villages is a “must-do” while in Provence. Olives grow throughout the Mediterranean basin, where the climate is suitable. The olive tree is fairly drought-resistant; many live for centuries, but productivity diminishes. It’s unclear whether the Phoenicians or the Romans introduced olive trees and the olive oil trade in the region known as Provence today. Either way, the olive tree has been a part of the landscape in the South of France for at least two millenniums.
Guide to the Villages of the Alpilles
Today, olive plantations exist throughout the South of France. In the Alpilles the olive production in the Vallée des Baux is governed by an Appellation d’origine protégée (AOP) a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) since 1997. The AOP covers all the villages in the Alpilles and the olive oil production from an estimated 580,000 trees. So, if you see an AOP label on a bottle, you know that the oil contains only olives from the region. There are ten (10) olive mills in the Alpilles, with a total production representing 15% of the national total.
The Alpilles
The Alpilles are a small mountain range running east to west for 25 kilometres, starting at the edge of the Durance River and the town of Orgon to the far end near Fontvieille. Although the Alpilles do not boast significant altitude, the maximum height is 498 metres. They are dramatic. However, the rugged limestone peaks make these hills appear much higher than the numbers suggest. Try hiking in the area, and you will be thankful there isn’t any more vertical to climb.
Established in 2007, the Parc Naturel Régional des Alpilles covers the mountain range and its flanks. As a protected natural area, construction and park usage are restricted. However, artifacts from human settlements discovered in these hills date back to the Neolithic era, and the range is the result of millennia of continuous geological evolution.
Alpilles Olive Oil Producers
We begin this olive-focused driving tour of the Alpilles in the tiny village of Aureille and then follow the mountain range to the west and around to end in Orgon. Of course, time constraints may limit the number of places that you visit on the list below. Pick a village or a few mills, or plan a day out with lunch somewhere along the way.
Before you set out, here are a few facts about the olives and oil from AOP Les Baux de Provence. The AOP is one of the oldest that covers olive products in Provence. It covers two types of oil: fruité vert made with greener fruit and has a peppery taste) and olives maturées from riper olives; the flavour is smoother. In addition, the AOP covers the black Grossane, a typical variety of this area. Finally, the olives vertes cassées, which are Salonenque or Aglandau varieties, are handpicked in September when green and broken (the pit is left in) before being brined with wild fennel from the Alpilles.
Aureille
Residents will tell you that the best thing about Aureille is the lack of tourist traffic. The town has just over 1,500 inhabitants, who enjoy a quiet village complete with a charming main street and beautiful views of the Alpilles. Aureille is on the south side of the Alpilles with little protection from the mistral wind when it blows down the Rhône Valley. Climbers and hikers come to Aureille for the many trails and challenging cliffs. The town might be small, but there is a soccer pitch, two tennis courts and a playground for local kids.
Aureille ©Alpilles en Provence Tourism
Maricera en Provence (website)
837 Campagne Mis
13930 Aureille
Telephone: +33 (0)6 43 39 32 54
Monday through Friday 9h – 12h/ 15h – 18h
Saturday 9h -12h
Owning an olive farm is a dream come true for this couple. In 2015, after years of continuing family tradition and farming other products, including hay and summer fruits, the couple finally planted olive trees on a 20-hectare plot.
Mouries
Surrounded by some 80,000+ olive trees, the village of Mouries is often considered the heart of the olive-growing Les Baux de Provence AOP. Two working olive mills are near the town. Olive oil from four varieties, Salonenque, Aglandau, Grossane, and Verdale des Baux, is AOP labelled. Above the village, towards the base of the Alpilles, lies an old Celto-Ligurian oppidum on the Caisses de Jean-Jean.
Mouries ©Alpilles en Provence Tourism
The commune of Mouries produces the most olive oil in France. Mouries has a cooperative olive mill where local growers (450+) take their olives for pressing. Individuals can do the same, but private labels require a specific volume. The mill has operated for over 100 years.
Amouriès (website)
Domaine Delabarre
Coussou Est
13890 Mouriès
Telephone +33 06 33 53 36 62
Producer: After his studies, Lucas Delabarre follows his passion by working the land in the Alpilles and growing olives. There is no mill currently, but he sells online and at a few local markets. Lucas Delabarre’s farm presently has nearly 1,000 trees, and he works hard to protect the quality and create different types of oil. Just last year, he planted over 500 young olive trees to develop new kinds of oil while providing the traditional table oils one may expect. If interested in keeping up with his progress, Delabarre writes a blog detailing his journey and progress, providing pictures and a new insight into the life of an olive farmer.
Moulin Cooperative de Mouries (website)
1 Chemin du Mas Neuf,
13890 Mouriès
Telephone +33 (0)4 90 47 53 86
Monday through Saturday 9h-12h/14h-18h
Sunday and holidays 9h30-12h30
Historic property: Originally founded in 1624, the farm operated independently, from picking the olives to processing them into products for 300 years. In 1920, they began to collaborate with nearby farms as a cooperative to produce more olive oil annually. This increased revenue allowed them to continuously innovate over the past century, purchasing new tools to help them expand their cooperative and become the mill it is today.
The producer-to-consumer process is imperative at this cooperative, where they value providing customers with the highest quality of olives and oil. A combination of handpicked and some machine-picked olives arrive at the mill. The fruit is carefully inspected and stripped of branches and leaves before cleaning. Then, the olives are pressed into oil and stored in stainless steel tanks. Over three months, the oil is tested regularly, ensuring that customers purchase the best quality products.
Their website has plenty of detail if you want to learn more about the process. The Moulin Cooperative de Mouries also offers guided tours of the historic and modern mill, concluding with an olive oil tasting.
Moulin St Michel
30 Cours Paul Revoil,
13890 Mouriès
Telephone: +33 (0)4 90 92 05 22
A family-owned olive farm started in 1744 and has been passed down through the same family for the last three generations. Using techniques established in 1744, the distinguished farm has received 76 awards since 1975 for its notable olive oil and other high-quality products.
Guided tours are available every Tuesday and Thursday at 10h30
Open Monday through Saturday 9h-12h/ 14h-18h
Annual Closure December 25th through January 1st
Le Domaine des Plaines Marguerite (website)
Marguerite Plains Road
13520 Maussane-les-Alpilles
Telephone +33 (04) 26 85 37 17
Hours of Operation Monday-Saturday 10h-12h/ 2h-6h30
Founded in 2005, this mill is relatively new. It intends to master the production of olive oil from growing to harvesting to production to bottling. This mill loves to share the beautiful process of creating these olive oils and welcomes guests by appointment to come and experience it for themselves. While not as historic as some other mills on this driving tour, the property is still beautiful and worth seeing; of course, the olive oils won’t disappoint.
Le Mas de la Tapi
15 Cours Paul Revoil
13890 Mouriès
Telephone +33 06 80 36 09 36
A family-owned olive tree farm passed down through five (5) generations that became AOP Certified oil in 1997 and tended to over 91,000 olive trees on site. The family focuses on the consumer getting the most out of the olive and bringing as much of the flavour out of the olive as possible.
Product tasting and sales are available onsite Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9h-12h30
Sunday 9h30-12h30
Friday and Tuesday 9h-12h/ 15h30-19h
Monday closed
Maussane
The charming village of Maussane-les-Alpilles sits at the foot of the Alpilles Mountains, near the famous château of Les Baux-de-Provence. The area is rich with olive groves. Maussane has a lovely central plaza surrounded by restaurants and cafés. This village is considered one of the three in the “golden triangle” (Maussane, St Remy de Provence and Eygalières), attracting many second homeowners.
Le Moulin Cournille
Rue Charloun Rieu
13520 Maussane-les-Alpilles
Telephone: +33 (0)4 90 54 32 37
Initially founded in 1685, this historic mill is now part of a cooperative that was started in 1924. The cooperative is dedicated to providing high-quality olive oil and continues to innovate its mill. For a video tour of the incredible property and mill, visit here.
Mas de Cayol
Place Louis Jou
13520 Les Baux de Provence
Telephone +33 (0)6 03 98 17 10
This olive farm was established in 1912 and covers 50 hectares of market garden land and olive groves. You are lucky if you have always dreamed of sleeping in an olive grove. There is a gîte on the property that sleeps four people.
Raymond Gonfond, Producteur & confiseur
Mas Saint Roman
13520 Maussane-les-Alpilles
Telephone +33 (0)4 90 47 54 83
This mill has grown and produced various olive products onsite for several generations. The producer, Raymond Gonfond, has held his family values and traditions, which he learned from his parents. He keeps their traditions alive by growing olives and producing olive products at the family farm.
Raymond Gonfond, Producteur & confiseur
Mas Saint Roman
13520 Maussane-les-Alpilles
Les Baux de Provence
Moulin Castelas (website)
Mas de l’Olivier
13520 Les Baux de Provence, France
Telephone +33 (0)4 90 54 50 86
Some of Provence’s best olive products are produced at Moulin Castelas, located below the famous fortress of Les-Beaux de Provence. The mill was founded by a couple in 2002, just five years after purchasing the property, after they fell in love with the process of farming olives. The famous olive oil at this location has won many awards nationally in France and internationally. With English-speaking staff, the product tasting experience is in a fun and friendly environment where you can show up without a reservation for a tour of the mill and tasting provided by the mill. Stroll through the orchard at your own pace and learn about the trees and natural vegetation. There is a pictorial map and verbal descriptions via QR code.
©Moulin Castelas
Fontvieille Village
On the far western edge of the Alpilles is the village of Fontvieille. Driving through the town, two main streets are running in opposite directions. Fontvieille is lively, with many restaurants, bars, bakeries and plenty of history. The Roman amphitheatre (arena), ramparts and theatre in Arles were constructed with limestone from Fontvieille. Stone was vital in building the Barbegal aqueduct and was engineered to supply water to Arles. Rock quarried and cut in Fontvieille was also used for the nearby Abbey of Montmajour between the 10th and 13th centuries. The village of Fontvieille was officially named a couple of years after the end of the French Revolution (1799), although humans had inhabited the area long beforehand. Archaeological discoveries in the Alpilles established human habitation between 5000 and 2800 BC.
Fontvieille Producers
Château d’Estoublon
Route De Maussane
13990 Fontvieille
Telephone +33 (0)4 90 54 87 34
For some Provencal history, visit Château d’Estoublon. Initially built in 1489, this winery and olive oil producer is a must-see as it continues to be maintained and restored to its original beauty. The Château d’Estoublon boutique features local artisans for culinary treats, gift items, clothes, and, of course, wine and olive oil. This wouldn’t be an olive tour without olives, and there are olives here. Five (5) different kinds of olives are available, and visitors can walk through the fields to see the beauty of the olive tree farm themselves. Check the website for details on wine and olive tours at the Château.
Moulin St Jean
Route de Saint Jean
13990 Fontvieille
Telephone +33 (0)4 90 54 72 64
This limited-quantity but high-quality olive oil is worth every penny and is a must-try. The olives are handpicked, limiting Moulin St Jean’s annual oil production. This property is a beautiful location with a rich history. The tradition continues with the daughters, who continue producing quality oil. Book a guided tour, cooking class, or reception visit here.
©J. Christina
Saint-Etienne-du-Grès
Domaine Château Dalmeran
45 Avenue Notre-Dame-Du-Château
13103 Saint-Etienne-du-Grès
Telephone: +33 (0)4 90 49 04 04
The tasting room closes on Sundays and Mondays. It is open all year, but the hours change with the seasons. Please check the website before visiting. You are welcome to walk through the vines or reserve a ride on the domain’s electric cart for a maximum of six people.
Neil and Béatrice Joyce own two vineyards, one in this property and the other in Châteauneuf du Pape. The domain produces wine from 11 hectares of vines and 700 olive trees.
St Remy de Provence
Moulin à huile d’olive du Calanquet (website)
3206, Old chemin d’Arles
13210 Saint-Rémy de Provence
Telephone +33 (0)4 32 60 09 50
April through September Monday-Saturday 9h-12h/ 2h-7h
October through March Monday-Saturday 10h-12h/ 3h-6h
After forty years of limited olive oil production in the area, the Brun family rejuvenated this farm. They took over the estate in 1997 and planted olive trees but had their inaugural harvest, and the first olive oil was in 2001. Since then, they have grown a reputation for their high-quality oils and the diverse types of olives they produce and sell. Their site provides a wide variety of details on their production and products, but if interested, they go into depth about their step-by-step process going from olives to olive oil here.
Orgon
Domaine de Valdition
Chemin de Valdition Route D’Eygalières
13660 Orgon
Telephone +33 (0)4 90 73 08 12
April through September Monday-Saturday 9h30-12h30/ 2h-7h
October through March Monday-Saturday 9h30-12h30/ 2h-6h
This wine vineyard and olive orchard is the perfect place to visit to get the best of both worlds. With affordable, high-quality wines and some tasty olive oils, this vineyard/mill is the ideal stop for this tour. They offer a private tasting by appointment where a small group can learn about the wines and find the wine they want to take home while enjoying a provided lunch. This olive tour wouldn’t be without olive products, and this farm does not disappoint. Their handpicked olives are the only ones that go into their oils, which are very high quality and sure to satisfy anyone who tries them.
Guide: Provence Wine Regions and Vineyards
For additional information on the olives and olive oil production in the Alpilles, take a look at this website:
Syndicat AOP Huiles et Olives de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence
Collège des Saveurs
Vallon de la Fontaine
13520 Les Baux-de-Provence
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