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SA's top-rated olive oils revealed for 2021

9 Sep 2021

The winners of the 2021 SA Olive Awards have been announced. The annual SA Olive Awards, a premier fixture on the South African olive industry calendar, acknowledges the commitment and the strive for excellence that characterises the country's local olive oil industry.

Source: Pexels

The winning olive oils were awarded at an exclusive gala function held today at Webersburg Wine Estate near Stellenbosch. Following many months of hard work, which culminated in the autumn harvest, 46 South African olive oil producers submitted a total of 113 of their best extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) to be judged.

All 113 EVOOs were rigorously assessed and judged during an extensive five-day blind tasting by professional taster and panel leader, Aldo Mazzini from Italy, and five local tasters and judges – Reni Hildenbrand, Jackie Loubser, Benedetta Lami, Marlene Loubser and Michelle Kruger.

These are the Gold winners in the three SA Olive Awards categories.

Gold awards in Delicate category

• Kleinbergskloof Estate Blend
• Olive Boutique Frantoio
• Willow Creek Nuy Valley EVOO

Gold awards in Intense category

• De Rustica Collection: Coratina
• De Rustica Estate Intense
• Mardouw XXV Intense
• Porterville Andante Forte
• Rio Largo Premium
• Willow Creek Directors Reserve EVOO

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Complexity, harmony and character

Italian panel Leader Aldo Mazzini commented: “I can say that during the competition we found a good percentage of very high-quality oils with complexity, harmony and character. These are oils that I like to compare to the great paintings of the Impressionists: EVOOs with great colours able to arouse emotions and colour the dishes of any table in the world.”

SA Olive manager Vittoria Jooste commended EVOO producers for achieving the high standards of production that are reflected in the results achieved. Vittoria added that SA Olive’s Commitment to Compliance (CTC) scheme enables producers to benchmark their newly-harvested EVOOs within a quality framework that is modelled on international standards. Hence for consumers, the CTC seal is an assurance of the quality of local EVOO.

The Absa Top 10 Awards will be taking place on 15 October 2021. The qualifiers for the Absa Top 10 are selected from the ranks of the highest-scoring SA Olive Awards medal winners by a team of revered tasters.

Click here for the full list of winners, including Silver and Bronze medallists.