"The tree is officially 2,059 years old, and its age was established in 2015, in the same project when the age of the Old Olive tree was determined, founded by the experts of the Institute of Forestry and Farming from Istanbul. It continues to grow in full swing, and this year will be about 250-300 kilograms, but it will not bear any fruit because the olives were attacked by Mediterranean flies this year. There is n ancient rule - 'Rain in July, no oil' because the olives cannot take the rain in the summer, and this July there has been plenty of rainfall," said Abazovic for ”Vijesti”.
On his estate in Mrkojevici, there are hundreds of trees from whose fruit he squeezes oil, but he says that the mentioned olive tree has a special place in every sense.
"Following overseas olive events, I saw that the oil had to have its own story, and this olive tree needs nothing but to be marked as two millennia old, that's enough. It's a huge tree with a diameter of 8.6 meters, a crown of 14x15 feet and when you climb on it, it is as if you were on a hill - it can be seen from that far. Every year I cut it a little bit short so the wind will not break it, and a little bit for easier picking. Foreigners always come, they say they have never seen a bigger tree anywhere in the world. When it is a fruitful year, it has a half of ton of fruit, a maximum of 530 kilograms," says the multi-award-winning oil mill.
Expensive oil made from the fruits of the old olive tree PHOTO: Radomir Petrić
Caring for the olives is Abazovic's family business. With him is his wife Saida and daughters Enisa who is married and has two children, Alisa who is finishing economics studies in Podgorica, Jasna who is studying English and Italian in Niksic, Azra who is preparing for studies and nine-year-old son Adnan.
"We are all in the estate, I would not achieve results only by myself, there is little workforce."
Oil from the "special" olive tree is packed into a unique 0.25-liter bottle, for which the label is made in Austria in gold letters.
This unique "edition" of oil is sold for €100 per bottle or €400 for a liter, and says it is not much for this story because in Berlin "at an auction, a liter of oil reaches up to 7,000 euro".
"I sold some of these 100 euro bottles to Porto Montenegro, in the 'full' packaging in a wooden box. One ended with Milomir Marić, a gift from Radomir Novakovic Cakan when he visited him. Marić told him: 'You want to cheat me, this is a perfume, there's no oil in such a small package.' It was funny when domestic olive oil is produced, people mostly first imagine plastic barrels and Coca-Cola bottles."
Abazovic says that British Prince Charles received the premier bottle of olive oil when he and his wife stayed in Cetinje.
He emphasizes that he does not forget when he was not allowed to deliver the gift he has produced.
"I asked the minister whether the gift was given by another man because he was younger, or because I did not have a movie smile? If I knew I would produce such an oil that got an international certificate in Portoroz, I guess I would have known how to give it to him. I do not blame my colleague, but the ministry made a mistake toward my account."
Text by Radomir Petric, on August 23rd, 2018, read more at Vijesti
