Sample edition. Every oil, medal, laboratory value, and price in this release is illustrative. None of it is a real competition result.

Cultivars

Varieties

The cultivars named on the sample bottles. The notes below are general reference for the variety. The oils are not.

Arbequina
Spain
Arbequina comes from Catalonia and now fills super-high-density groves from Spain to California. It is naturally delicate: ripe apple, banana, almond. Polyphenols are usually modest, and the oil ages faster than Picual.
Athinolia
Greece
Athinolia (also associated with Laconia) gives a softer, broader oil than Koroneiki: ripe fruit, milder bitterness, and less of the green bite that defines early Cretan lots.
Chemlali
Tunisia
Chemlali is Tunisia’s workhorse cultivar, centred on Sfax. Bulk lots are mild. The interesting bottles are early harvests, which pick up a green almond note the later oil never has.
Cobrançosa
Portugal
Cobrançosa is a Portuguese cultivar from Trás-os-Montes, now also milled in Alentejo. It sits between delicate and medium: green almond, herbs, and a moderate pepper finish.
Coratina
Italy
Coratina, from the province of Bari, is famous for polyphenols. Well made, it is intensely bitter and pungent. Poorly made, those same traits become harsh. It is a cultivar where the lab and the glass have to agree.
Frantoio
Italy
Frantoio is a central Tuscan cultivar and one of the parents of the ‘Italian’ flavour people expect: artichoke, bitter greens, and a clean pepper finish. It is also widely planted in Australia and Chile.
Hojiblanca
Spain
Hojiblanca, named for the pale underside of its leaf, is an Andalusian cultivar. It is broader and sweeter than Picual, with green almond and a moderate pungency.
Istarska bjelica
Croatia
Istarska bjelica is an Istrian cultivar picked green. It is sharper than Oblica and often carries a high polyphenol count when milled within hours of the harvest.
Koroneiki
Greece
Koroneiki is the small-fruited Cretan cultivar behind most exported Greek extra virgin. It is aromatic, reasonably high in polyphenols, and more stable than Arbequina.
Levantinka
Croatia
Levantinka belongs to Krk and the Kvarner coast. It is uncommon in international line-ups, which makes a clean example useful when a ranking claims to look past the usual Spanish and Italian names.
Oblica
Croatia
Oblica is the most widely planted Croatian cultivar, especially in Dalmatia and Istria. Early harvests are bitter and peppery; later picks turn rounder and lose much of the polyphenol edge.
Picual
Spain
Picual is the most planted olive in the world, centred on Jaén. It is stable in storage, often high in polyphenols, and tastes of green tomato leaf, fig leaf, and black pepper when it is milled early.