Boquerones in Olive Oil Conservas Paco Lafuente

Sardines Millésiméss

Sardines Millésimés is the name given in France to the vintage tins. They are the first to highlight their age, as they are marketed 2 years after bottling, as a sign of identity. Now they are on sale for the 2016 campaign.

As happens to great wines, this canned oily fish is ennobled with the passage of time and reaches its optimum point years after the best-before date.

Connoisseurs save cans of sardines from the best canneries and let time pass before tasting them. Three, five, 10 years… It is not known for sure when they reach their perfect point of maturation. It is a matter of opinion.

Like all other blue fish – and even better behaved – sardines have a very long journey from sealing to decomposition, a process that can take almost forever. As the months go by, their fat and that of the olive oil in which they are preserved become integrated in such a way that the piece becomes more mellow. The same happens if they are seasoned with lemon, tomato or spicy, although it is with the juice of the olive when they reach their maximum degree of exquisiteness.