We have chosen a range of varieties that produce the high quality oils that people love. We have also selected tough disease-resistant varieties so we can grow them naturally, without use of chemicals.
The right equipment
Importantly, we have high capacity modern mills on each of our farms, ensuring olives are processed very quickly once harvested, preserving quality.
We are able to operate with minimal water use, to ensure the polyphenols remain in the oil instead of being washed out, and maintain good control of temperature and malaxing time, maximising flavour.
The right people
Our olive oil makers have been producing olive oil their whole working lives and know what decisions to make to maintain quality. Each year also throws up new challenges, especially as the climate is changing, and our team continues to experiment and learn, finding ways to improve what we do.
Early harvest Our harvest team ensures our olives are harvested early and reach the mill quickly to maximize quality
Our Process
We have spent the last decade refining our processes to ensure we deliver a consisent high quality product. There are several elements we control to ensure this
Harvest Early
We harvest early in the season to lock in polyphenols and fruity flavours. While we could harvest later to get a higher yield from riper olives with higher oil content, we choose to harvest at the optimal time for quality.
Process On-site
Processing on site lets us minimise time between picking and and processing. Running our own mills also means we maintain complete control of processing parameters.
Cold Press
Cold proccessing ensures that the polyphenols and flavours of the olive oil are retained.
Minimal Water Use
Excess use of water can wash away much of the flavour. Our two phase process keeps the flavour in our oil.
Our Olive Varieties
Arbequina
Delicate
2022 Tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 2 Bitterness: 1 Piquancy/Heat: 1 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Delicate
Aroma: Initial burst of fresh salad leaves with mixed fresh herbs. Followed by fruity aromas of honeydew melon and lemon guava (feijoa).
Flavour: Creaminess on the front of the palate with slow building radish heat and a finish of almond nuts with underlying tannin.
Balance: The subtle flavours are delicately balanced.
Complexity: The degree of complexity is moderate with lower intensities of each of the fruity, bitter and piquant flavours.
Harmony: The oil is gently pleasing on the palate.
Persistence: Medium length of flavours on the palate with a persistent nutty finish.
Commercial evaluation: A delicate oil best used to enhance cuisine of low intensity flavours – soups, fish, white meat, mayonnaise, alioli, baking, white sauces, pasta, risotto.
Possible markets: Restaurants presenting fish cuisine, Asian consumers who prefer an oil low in bitterness. Consumers who come from regions such as Catalunya in Spain, Liguria in Italy and Greece where more delicate oils compliment their traditional cuisine. The feijoa aroma will appeal in New Zealand where the fruit is well known.
Additional comments: A stand alone extra virgin olive oil.
Grown: Mallee, South Australia & Kialla, Victoria
Arbosana
Delicate
2022 Tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 2 Bitterness: 2 Piquancy/Heat: 2 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Delicate
Aroma: Green tomato spiced with flat leaf parsley and rocket.
Flavour: Creamy with tannic spinach and rocket bitterness in the mid-palate with building rocket and white pepper heat. The finish is nutty walnut with persisting underlying tannin.
Balance: Balanced with an even spread of the positive characteristics of fruitiness, bitterness and piquancy.
Complexity: A straightforward delicate oil with subtle flavours.
Harmony: Flavours are delicate and harmonious.
Persistence: A medium length olive oil with persisting piquancy.
Commercial evaluation: A delicate oil best used to enhance cuisine of low intensity flavours – soups, caprese salads, Greek salads, fish, white meat, mayonnaise, alioli, baking, white sauces, pasta, risotto, tapas.
Possible markets: Restaurants presenting fish cuisine, Asian and other consumers who prefer an oil low in bitterness. Consumers who come from regions such as Catalunya in Spain, Liguria in Italy and Greece where more delicate oils compliment their traditional cuisine.
Additional comments: A stand-alone extra virgin olive oil which would also be useful in blending with more robust or unbalanced bitter oils to improve balance and reduce intensity.
Grown: Mallee, South Australia
Barnea
Medium
A medium style oil with notes of apple and sweet almond.
Harvested green at Oasis so stronger than many barnea oils.
Long shelf life and will improve most oils when blended.
Grown: Kialla, Victoria
Coratina
Medium/robust
2022 Tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 4 Bitterness: 3 Piquancy/Heat: 2 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Medium/Robust
Aroma: Green and ripe tomato, green plantain banana, freshly cut mixed salad leaves.
Flavour: Initially creamy on the front palate leading to bitter melon bitterness followed by arugula bitter heat. Bitter finish with tannin persisting. Late surge of tomato on the front and mid-palate.
Balance: Slightly unbalanced on the palate with bitterness dominating.
Complexity: Complex flavours surging and ebbing through the tasting.
Harmony: Bitterness, which will moderate with time, dominates.
Persistence: Medium to significant length.
Commercial evaluation: A versatile extra virgin olive oil best used in dishes with stronger flavours. Will complement tomato dishes such as salmarejo and gazpacho, tomato-based sauces for pasta. Will enhance the flavours of red meat. The plantain aroma may be attractive for Asian cuisine.
Possible Markets: The style of this extra virgin olive oil will appeal to those familiar with the oils from Puglia in Italy which produces around 40% of Italian oil and Andalucia in Spain where the picual is dominant and arguably has a similar profile to coratina. Good for use at home and across all Horeca sectors.
Additional comments: Good for blending where increased bitterness is required.
Grown: Kialla, Victoria
Frantoio
Medium/robust
2022 Tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 3 Bitterness: 3 Piquancy/Heat: 3 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Medium/Robust
Aroma: Tomato with herbaceous tones and an underlying sweetness of mixed berries and mulberry.
Flavour: Initial creaminess with rocket/arugula bitterness in the mid-palate persisting to the back palate then giving way to rocket and chilli heat and a bitter tannic finish with a hint of almond.
Balance: Balanced with the bitterness falling just short of domination.
Complexity: An oil with different layers of bitterness and heat across the palate.
Harmony: The bitterness verges on disturbing the harmony of the flavours.
Persistence: An oil of medium to significant length.
Commercial evaluation: Best use will be with cuisine of stronger flavours needing the addition of bitterness and spiciness. It could be used to blend with more delicate oils to add some bitterness and piquancy.
Possible Markets: An oil which will appeal to consumers looking for a more robust extra virgin olive oil
Grown: Kialla and Western Wimmera, Victoria
Koroneiki
Medium
2022 tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 3 Bitterness: 2 Piquancy/Heat: 2 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Medium
Aroma: Predominantly tomato with garlic and basil, reminiscent of marinara sauce, with crushed salad leaves.
Flavour: Creamy tomato start with sorrel and radicchio bitterness followed by radish heat ebbing to complex tomatoes in the mid-palate, flash of sweet cherry heirloom tomato, with a tomato salsa. Tannin with persistent complex tomato. Extended length with a mild bitter pine nut finish.
Balance: Well balanced.
Complexity: Aromas carry through to the palate giving the oil a multi-faceted tomato and tomato-based sauce profile.
Harmony: A harmonious and interesting extra virgin olive oil with the aroma and flavour in sync.
Persistence: Significant length.
Commercial evaluation: An oil from the dominant Greek variety displaying a complex range of tomato-related flavours. For use with medium to intense flavoured dishes to add tomato flavour, bitterness and spice. Excellent for Greek salads. Useful across all cuisine.
Possible Markets: Most Greek extra virgin olive oils come from this variety and the oil will appeal to restaurants and consumers with affiliations to Greek cuisine. It is more intense than many koroneiki oils emanating from Greece – over time it may settle to display some of the more subtle herb aromas and flavours of these oils. The oil also displays the tomato flavour characteristics of Italian varieties Coratina and Nocellara, as well as Spanish Picual and Cobrancosa and could be used as an alternative to these..
Additional comments: An interesting complex extra virgin olive oil which teases the palate with many different flavours, dominant and transitory.A variety with a creamy balanced finish similar to a green banana. Great with salad or bread.
Grown: Kialla, Victoria & Mallee, South Australia
Leccino
Delicate/medium
2022 Tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 3 Bitterness: 2 Piquancy/Heat: 2 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Delicate/Medium
Aroma: Complex sweet aromas of green banana, caramel, ripe tomato and milk chocolate.
Flavour: Creamy start with early nutty flavours and chicory bitterness. White pepper heat leading into a bitter almond nutty finish with underlying tannin.
Balance: A well balanced ‘sweet’ style olive oil.
Complexity: Complex evocative aromas and balanced flavours.
Harmony: Harmonious with an attractive aroma.
Persistence: Medium length with persistent bitter nuttiness.
Commercial evaluation: A delicate to medium intensity Tuscan/Umbrian style extra virgin olive oil with sweet flavours benefitting Tuscan and Umbrian cuisine and confectionary. Excellent with tomato-based dishes, baking as well as a range of other cuisines of delicate to medium flavour intensity.
Possible markets: Restaurants presenting Northern Italian cuisine, bakers, consumers with Italian heritage, confectioners. The North American market with the consumers’ predisposition to Italian style olive oils and sweet food. A good ‘sweet’ extra virgin olive oil to include in an offering of a range of styles.
Additional comments: A stand-alone and different extra virgin olive oil.
Grown: Kialla, Victoria
Picual
Medium/robust
2022 Tasting Notes
Intensities: Fruitiness: 3 Bitterness: 3 Piquancy/Heat: 3 (scale 1 low to 5 high)
Style: Medium/Robust
Aroma: Fresh green and ripe tomato with a flash of eucalyptus and/or mint, freshly chopped lettuce.
Flavour: Creamy tomato at the front of the palate leading to rocket/arugula bitter heat and tannic sorrel bitterness. Bitterness persists with tomato returning as pepper heat develops at the finish giving way to mild tannic bitter almond.
Balance: Well balanced.
Complexity: Aromas carry through to the palate giving the oil a multi-faceted flavour profile.
Harmony: A harmonious and interesting extra virgin olive oil with the aroma and flavour in sync.
Persistence: Medium to significant length.
Commercial evaluation: An oil from a Spanish variety which will compliment Spanish tapas, tomato-based soups such as gazpacho and salmarejo and pork products such as jamon. Useful also in southern Italian cuisine, spicy South American, Mexican and Spanish dishes.
Possible Markets: Picual is the most consumed variety worldwide and forms the basis of many Spanish and Italian export blends for the USA and other destinations.
Grown: Kialla, Victoria
Favolosa (FS17)
Medium
Notes of fresh green vegetables and radicchio.
Favolosa is a new variety that can either stand on its own as a pleasing medium style oil or blended to improve the complexity of other oils. It complements frantoio in particular very well.
Grown: Mallee, South Australia
