Why Our Manjimup Truffle Season Starts on 1 June — and Not a Day Before

There is a moment in late autumn when something shifts in the ground at Smithbrook.

The soil temperature drops. The days shorten. And somewhere beneath the roots of our oak and hazelnut trees, the truffles we have been tending all year begin to ripen.

We have learned, over many seasons, not to rush this.

The question we are asked most often as June approaches is: when can we get our hands on your truffles? And the honest answer — the one that sometimes surprises people — is that we will not harvest a single truffle before it is ready. For us, that means 1 June at the earliest. Sometimes later, depending on the season.

Here is why that matters.

A truffle does not ripen after harvest.

Unlike stone fruit or avocado, a black winter truffle — Tuber melanosporum — does not continue to develop once it leaves the ground. The aroma, the depth of flavour, the marbling you see when a truffle is sliced — all of that is determined entirely by what happens underground, in its own time, before it is ever touched.

Harvest an unripe truffle and you have something that looks the part but delivers very little. No depth. No complexity. The aroma is there in a thin, fleeting way — but it does not fill a room, it does not perfume a dish, and it does not stay with you.

Harvest a ripe one and you understand immediately why chefs have revered this ingredient for centuries.

We have 17,000 trees at our Smithbrook truffière.

Each one inoculated, tended, and managed across seasons that began long before this harvest. We irrigate through summer to support the developing fungi. We monitor soil health year-round. We work without pesticides or synthetic chemicals — because the integrity of what grows below depends entirely on the integrity of what surrounds it.

All of that care leads to one outcome: truffles that are genuinely ready when we pick them.

We are also Australia's only ISO 22000-certified truffle producer — which means the handling, grading, and packing of every truffle is held to an internationally verified food safety standard. Within 24 hours of being unearthed, your truffle is cleaned, graded, and on its way.

So what does a ripe Manjimup black winter truffle actually taste like?

It is earthy and deep, with a warmth that is almost animal. There is something forested about it — mossy and mineral — but also rich, almost buttery when shaved over something hot. The aroma is the thing people remember most. It moves through a room. It stays in the kitchen long after the dish is finished.

If you have only ever cooked with truffle oil, or with truffles that were harvested too early, we would gently suggest this season is worth a proper introduction.

The season runs from June through to August.

Fresh truffles are available directly from us — online, or in person at our Truffle HQ on Rokeby Road in Subiaco — while the season lasts. We also offer blast-frozen truffles year-round, and our Truffle Pétale™ cryo-dried slices for those who want the flavour of our estate available at any time of year.

But there is nothing quite like the fresh season. And it only comes once.

We will not rush it. We never have.

Below&Above. Grown in Smithbrook, near Manjimup, Western Australia. Season opens 1 June. Fresh truffles are available directly from us — online, or in person at our Truffle HQ on Rokeby Road in Subiaco. Wednesday to Friday mornings at HQ or by appointment

https://belowandabove.com.au/products/fresh-truffles