Andrew S. 126 ratings 0 comments

A premium Picual from the Alicante region. Typical beautiful Picual notes of grass and tomato. But this Picual brings a floral aspect to it that makes it a unique Picual experience.

A wonderful unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I had the special experience of participating in the family’s harvest in Priego de Cordoba.

A premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Jaén. Notes of grass and unripe (green) banana. High tasting intensity, low but present spice and very well balanced. An evoo that is easy to enjoy.

Endless green fruit. Tomato, green banana and sweet almonds. Medium body, high tasting intensity and a buttery but not oily texture. A moderate amount of spiciness and superbly well-balanced.

A clean tasting, vegetal-oriented evoo that is lower in complexity and tasting intensity. It’s very spicy. Its bottling is superb. Pairs well on vegetables and would be fine to cook with. (An update on this rating: Its cork, which I originally liked the idea of, began falling apart the second time I tried to open it. I like the cork idea but a thing to consider with olive oil versus wine is that with wine someone usually only uncorks a bottle once. With olive oil it may need uncorked every day for some time. So the deterioration of a cork with use is a consideration in this setting)

A fruity evoo. Ripe banana and citrus. Lower on spice.

A light in composition evoo with notes reminiscent of tomato, unripe banana and a hint of orange. The taste is a bit on the crisp side (not creamy or buttery), it’s light bodied and its tasting intensity is slightly below moderate. A premium Spanish evoo that is on the light side.

A complex and well-balanced evoo. On smell apple, blackberries and tomato leaf. On taste very vegetal and lower in spice. A pleasant Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sicily.

A soft but thick bodied evoo. It had clear notes of tomatoes and cut grass on smell. On taste it was well-balanced with a little but short lasting spiciness with a quick touch of orange (like a squirt) that occurred early in the gastro phase.

A prominently earthy (peaty) smelling evoo with a fruity note reminiscent of raspberry. Well balanced, moderately complex with a manageable amount of spice. (One critique with the bottle–The lid on the bottle wouldn’t close tight: It loosens again when turned too much to the right. So I recommend a better cap system for an otherwise very good, and unique evoo)

Initially when poured into the glass this evoo presented a prominent peaty (earthy) aroma. As the evoo oxidated for about 20 seconds the peaty aroma got mostly replaced with fruits on the sour side. (Think like Apples and Blackberries) It’s quite spicy and complex. It’s moderately balanced. An evoo I would recommend to others looking for an economical evoo with character. (A note that after having this bottle for a few days I started having issues with its cap/lid–Plastic inner filter fell off once when opening the lid; the cap is often not seamless to twist open)

A soft and floral smelling and tasting evoo. It was very pleasant to smell and taste. Its body was medium, tasting intensity was moderate and it had a good, but manageable amount of spice. Overall, moderately sophisticated, very aromatic and well balanced. Would be good for sipping, pairing and cooking with.

A bit peaty, a bit sweet and a bit vegetal on smell. On taste, well balanced with a bit of a buttery texture. Medium bodied. The tasting intensity is moderate and present. The spiciness is low but there. The evoo is packaged as organic with other attributes listing high quality methods of Extra Virgin Olive Oil production.

A wonderful Extra Virgin Olive Oil. An aroma of cut grass, ripe apple and fresh olives. The taste is medium bodied, clean and on the crisp side. I’d classify the evoo as spicy but not unmanageable. Despite its high tasting intensity and spiciness it remained well-balanced overall. A world class Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

A bit lower in tasting intensity. Light vegetal notes and nuts. An olive oil that would be functional for cooking with.

Thick bodied, earthy evoo with hints of tomato. Spiciness is high but reasonable. Fairly well-balanced. It should be suitable for cooking and if feeling like an an earthy evoo to sip on.

Vegetal flushes the nasal phase with notes of tomato and banana peel. Very creamy and vegetal on taste. The spice is low and well-managed. Overall very well-balanced. As a bonus it’s also organic.

A vegetal smelling evoo with an aroma of artichoke and apple. On taste vegetal and fruity. A late and quick sensation reminiscent of kiwi occurred for me. A very late spiciness. It wasn’t as well-balanced as some evoos but its tasting intensity and complexity is fairly high for its price. (Retail pricing was on the lower side) For an economical evoo, it can also be sipped on.

This was the lowest priced evoo (and was on sale) at a local store in Toronto that has a large selection of Italian evoos. I think it’s an underrated Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The evoo isn’t as robust in flavour as some Italian evoos but is unique and very complex. After some time with it, its prominent notes that stood out for me are a blend of red tomato and honey. (Think of the smell if you blended a tomato and honey together) I really like its aroma and taste and would rate it a bit higher if it was a bit more balanced. Late during the sipping process, a large spiciness occurs—So, overall, has this sensation of a soft, flavourful evoo with quite heavy spiciness. Again, this is an underrated evoo—A soft, highly complex evoo with unique sweet notes that is very spicy.

A fine evoo from Alghero on the island of Sardinia, Italy. Notes of green apple and fresh olives on smell and taste. A little spicy. Excellently balanced which makes it very suitable to be sipped on, paired with or used for cooking.

An earthy smelling and tasting evoo. Its body is on the light side and tasting intensity is a bit below moderate. It’s organic and the company labels the evoo as being harvested without “pesticides” and “artificial fertilizers”, amongst other things. This is a strong feature of this evoo. It’s very clean and a bit spicy on taste. I would sip on this evoo on occasion if feeling like an earthy/peaty tasting evoo. I haven’t tried it but this evoo would probably pair well with white fish. I wouldn’t hesitate to cook types of foods (eggs, fish, etc.) with an evoo like this.

I bought this evoo in the Galata Tower area in Istanbul (Harvested in Urla) There wasn’t too much information about the company or evoo on the bottle. The cap was sealed on purchase. It has a loose pour. (Suitable for cooking) On smell and taste: It was predominantly peaty with supporting notes of wood and walnuts. No spice or fruitiness was present. Its body was thick and its tasting intensity was moderate. A very earthy evoo from the İzmir region in Türkiye.

The bottle, in Turkish, notes that it’s organic and cold pressed. A peaty evoo that is a bit sweet. Notes reminiscent of peat, oranges, wood and nuts. It’s light tasting with no spiciness. The way I would characterize and summarize this evoo is it’s a peaty evoo that is a touch on the fruity side.

A premium evoo with prominent notes of green apple, blackberry, fresh olives and a bitterness to it. It’s very aromatic and complex on smell. The body is medium and the tasting intensity is in the range of a world-class evoo. Its spiciness is very high and lengthy. I would classify this and keep it in my evoo cellar as a sipping evoo—Some may find it too spicy though, whereas, others will like the higher spiciness level. If trying to pair it you’d have to be selective (e.g., many salads would work well) because of how high its tasting intensity is.

On smell it becomes immediately clear that this evoo is complex and will have high tasting intensity. Its notes are reminiscent of tomatoes, a light aroma of almonds, cut grass, and is vegetal. (Such as artichoke) Its taste is well-balanced and spicy. A world-class evoo.

The more that I experiment with this evoo the more it impresses me. First of all, it’s a vegetal tasting evoo with light notes reminiscent of ripe banana and flower. And it is very spicy to sip. Because its complexity and tasting intensity is moderate but its spiciness is high, it’s not in my bodega (cellar) as a sipping evoo. With that said, this evoo is phenomenal at pairing. So far, I’ve experienced it with Margherita pizza, tomatoes, salad, rice, chicken and hummus. Because its tasting intensity is moderate, but present, it adds a bit of flavour to a dish while the main flavour of the dish is maintained. And interestingly, that high spiciness when sipped isn’t present when paired. So an evoo that isn’t on my sipping list but is bang-on for pairing with a lot of foods.

A premium olive oil. It has the typical aroma I have found in many Italian olive oils of blackberries and apples—But with an ever so faint touch of orange. (So, a very fruity evoo, categorically) The taste doesn’t disappoint either. The spiciness is high and tasting intensity is moderate. This evoo can be easily sipped on and enjoyed. This is a high-quality evoo that can be sipped on, paired or cooked with. For sipping it’s recommended to use professional evoo tasting glasses (I included a photo in this rating) to get the maximum aroma out.

A high quality evoo. Citrus and nutty on flavour. Low but present spice.

Tomato, cut grass, banana and artichoke are some of the notes picked out in this evoo. It’s highly complex, well-balanced and very spicy. (But not unmanageable) It’s delicious on smell and taste. This is a world-class Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

A very creamy in texture evoo. The prominent note on smell was ripe banana. The taste had notes of ripe banana and vanilla. This evoo is likely a later season harvest as the bottle notes “Vierge Olives Maturées”, “Olive Noires” and “Black Olives”.