Vitelium Embratur Extra Virgin Olive Oil, intensely fruity, 250 ml. Early-harvest olive oil from Molise with tomato notes, limited – the bottle for salad, bread, and vegetables.

Vitelium Embratur Extra Virgin Olive Oil, intensely fruity, 250 ml is an extra virgin olive oil from Molise. Vitelium presses it from Sperone di Gallo and Nocellara del Belice olives grown in their own groves at two altitudes of 400 and 800 meters. Hand-harvested early, it is intensely fruity with notes of green tomatoes, accompanied by a touch of bitterness and piquancy. 250 ml; only a small, limited quantity per harvest. Not an oil for the frying pan, but for the plate.

Embratur Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Vitelium is an early-harvest olive oil, and you can taste it: green, fruity, with a bite. The name comes from Oscan, the language of the Samnites, and means emperor or ruler. Vitelium gives this name to their limited edition, which originates from two small mountain groves and is bottled in small quantities each harvest. The 250 ml bottle is for those who regularly need a robust olive oil: for tomato salad in summer, beans in winter, and bread with salt all year round.

An olive oil that tastes like green tomatoes

The nose is full of green tomatoes, fresh and intensely fruity. On the palate, a fine bitterness appears, followed by a piquancy in the finish that builds up slowly. Bitterness and piquancy are characteristic of oil from early-harvested olives and are associated with the high polyphenol content that defines these oils.

The fruitiness changes slightly from year to year, as Embratur is a single-vintage product and is freshly bottled. Sometimes the tomato is at the forefront, other times it is mixed with artichoke. Those expecting a soft, mild olive oil will find Embratur too robust. It has character and is meant to stand out in a dish.

From tomato salad to minestrone

With 250 ml, Embratur belongs on the kitchen table rather than in the cupboard. It is the oil for everything that stays cold or needs a final spoonful at the end: tomato salad, Caprese, bruschetta, grilled vegetables, white beans with rosemary, or a finishing drizzle on minestrone.

For meat and fish, add it only when it reaches the plate—to a grilled steak, a piece of salmon, or an oven-baked sea bream. For pasta, a plate of spaghetti with garlic, chili, and a generous splash of Embratur is enough.

The oil is less suitable for mayonnaise and light dressings where the bitterness might come through too strongly. Store the bottle in a cool, dark place and keep it sealed to preserve the fruitiness for as long as possible.

Our tip: Southern Italian style tomato bread: toast white bread, rub with a halved garlic clove, crush a ripe tomato on top, add salt, then Embratur. Two minutes of work—that's all you need.

Sperone di Gallo and Nocellara del Belice from two mountain altitudes

The olives for Embratur grow in Molise in two locations at roughly 400 and 800 meters above sea level. The Sperone di Gallo and Nocellara del Belice varieties provide the tomato note. The quantity per harvest is small, which is why Embratur is Vitelium's limited edition olive oil.

Harvesting is done by hand, depending on the season, between mid-October and early November while the olives are still green. Within six hours, they are taken to the mill and pressed purely mechanically in a centrifuge at under 27 degrees Celsius. The cultivation does not require any fertilizers or pesticides, and the oleic acid content is below 0.2 percent.

Behind Vitelium are Dr. Davide Petrollino and Constanze Engelbrecht. He is a plant biologist from Campobasso who researched at the University of Ferrara for ten years and inherited his grandfather's olive grove. She manages the company from Hamburg. You can learn more about them in the interview with Vitelium in our magazine.

The bottle for the pantry

The 250 ml bottle is intended for households where a robust olive oil is used regularly. To try it out or as a small gift, the 100 ml Embratur is a better choice, offering the same vintage in a smaller bottle.

As a second oil to keep on hand, the 250 ml Frentanum is worth considering: medium fruity, from the Gentile di Larino variety, with notes of grass and artichoke instead of tomato. You can find all products from the producer on the Vitelium page.

Embratur is not suitable for frying, deep-frying, or for those seeking a mild everyday oil without bitterness.

A limited-edition, early-harvest olive oil with tomato notes, from two mountain altitudes in Molise – in a 250 ml bottle for salad, bread, and vegetables.