The volatile compounds produced through the lipoxygenase cascade are responsible for the most remarkable sensory attributes of virgin olive oil. The paper analyses the evolution of these compounds according to different conditions of temperature and time of the malaxing process. The influence of these parameters on the production of C6 and C5volatile compounds is stated together with the effect that the amount of these compounds has on the most remarkable virgin olive oil sensory descriptors (green, bitter-pungent, sweet and undesirable). Optima values of temperature and time are given for producing high sensory quality virgin olive oils. Three cultivars, Spanish Picual and Italian Frantoio and Coratina, were characterised by sensory attributes and volatile compounds quantified by two different methodologies in order to avoid that results could be circumscribed to a specific cultivar or a quantification method.