Olives noires de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence

Olives noires de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence are black table olives produced exclusively from the Grossane variety within a delimited area of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. The fruit is large, short, with a truncated base and abundant pulp. Olives are presented whole, uncrushed, uncut, and unaromatised, prepared either by salting with sea salt or by immersion in brine.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO on 27 June 1998 under file number PDO-FR-0052 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013449), Olives noires de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence designates black table olives derived exclusively from the Grossane variety. The specification permits no other olive variety. The delimited geographical area lies within the Bouches-du-Rhône department and encompasses the communes of Les Baux-de-Provence, Maussane-les-Alpilles, and Paradou in their entirety, together with portions of Arles, Aureille, Eygalières, Eyguières, Fontvieille, Lamanon, Mas-Blanc-des-Alpilles, Mouriès, Orgon, Saint-Etienne-du-Grès, Saint-Martin-de-Crau, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Sénas, and Tarascon. All operations from olive production through to the preparation of the finished black olives must take place within this area. Two preparation methods are authorised: olives piquées au sel de mer, in which freshly harvested olives are pricked and dusted with sea salt; and preparation en saumure, in which pricked or unpricked olives are immersed in a brine whose density after stabilisation must be between 1,045 and 1,060 degrees Baumé. Batches must be homogeneous, with a maximum of 5% of fruits calibrated at more than 42 fruits per hectogram and a maximum of 5% calibrated at fewer than 20 fruits per hectogram. Labels must carry the name Olives noires de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence and the designation appellation d'origine protégée or AOP, grouped in the same visual field. The applicant body is the Syndicat AOP Huile d'olive et Olives de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence (SIOVB), based in Les Baux-de-Provence.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 27 June 1998 under file number PDO-FR-0052; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013449.
• The specification authorises exclusively the Grossane variety; no other olive variety is permitted.
• Brine density after stabilisation must be between 1,045 and 1,060 degrees Baumé for the saumure preparation.
• The specification describes aromas of truffle, ceps, sourdough bread, pain d'épices, and red wine; a hint of bitterness may be present.

Tasting notes

Provençal black table olive (Grossane, Salonenque, Verdale-de-Bouches-du-Rhône cultivars). Dark wrinkled fruit, soft tender flesh, intense savory flavor.

HoReCa use

Tapenade, Provençal antipasto, salads, on cheese boards.

Packaging

• jar-glass-200g-brine
• jar-glass-500g-brine
• vacuum-pack-200g