Double gold with new extra virgin olive oils

Afeast of concentrated flavours from the 2021 olive harvest has paid dividends for Tokara, the Stellenbosch wine and olive estate, with two gold medals for their blends and recognition for their entire range this year’s SA Olive Awards.

Tokara premium extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and their Estate blend were both awarded gold medals, while the rest of the range earned silver.

South Africa produces world-class olive oil. Every year, the SA Olive Awards acknowledges excellence by rewarding the best of the vintage as judged by a panel of international and local taste experts.

The spate of medals coincides with the spring release of Tokara’s new 2021 EVOOs singled out for their intensely concentrated flavours from the smaller than usual olive crop. This is particularly evident in the EVOOs from Tokara’s Italian varieties grown on the foothills of the Simonsberg.

“By picking and pressing our olives at just the right time, we captured the true herbaceous and nutty flavours of these Italian varieties, especially our Coratina which is an integral component of our Tokara premium blend,” says Gert van Dyk, Tokara’s olive oil master and operations manager at the Olive Shed.

“I can just imagine how this oil will enrich hearty minestrone, not to mention osso buco,” adds Van Dyk, who still reminisces about his visit to Puglia in the heel of the boot of Italy where Coratina has thrived for centuries.

Making fine olive oil is all about capturing the goodness of the fresh olive in the bottle. Under his watch, the hand-picked olives are pressed in the olive shed within 24 hours of being harvested to safeguard their unique flavour profiles. It is a task Van Dyk pursues with vigour and passion: “A good oil is made on the tree, and here at Tokara I am lucky enough to be hands-on from the olive groves right through to the final pressing stage.”

Frantoio, Italy's most important olive variety, is a crucial component of Tokara’s full-flavoured blended olive oils. It’s a medium to intense oil with green grassy tones. The palate is sublime and well balanced between green and bitter notes, with a nutty-almond aftertaste.

The Mission variety, which stems from America, is mild and gentle with a finely balanced grassy, herbaceous character and a macadamia aftertaste, making it an all-around oil.

The Multi-Varietal, a medley of Frantoio, Mission and Leccino, has an olive leaf and herbaceous character with a nutty aftertaste. At the same time, the Premium blend of Coratina and Frantoio leans more towards a rocket, artichoke and walnut flavour profile. Both are carefully blended to bring together the best characteristics of the various; olive varieties.