We grow three different types of olives — Frantoio, Leccino & New Norcia — to produce our single variety Extra Virgin Olive Oils, each with their own distinctive culinary flavour.
Other producers tend to grow a variety of olives but press them all together. At Chapman Hill we pick and press each variety seperately providing you with the rare opportunity to experience the distinctive properties of the three magnificent individual olive fruit varieties we grow.
Frantoio
Frantoio is as Italian an oil as you can get. The word ‘Frantoio’ refers to the press that the entire town brings their fruit to in order to press the olives grown in their own groves, for their own personal use.
The 2009 Frantoio shows almond, artichoke and grassy characters on the palate. It has a good balance of bitterness, pungency and well rounded creaminess with a fresh lemon pepper finish
Best use:
Frantoio is a versatile oil and perfect partner for drizzling on light salads, char-grilled meats and fish.
Leccino
Leccino is an Italian varietal, and in its homeland in the Tuscan hills it receives snow every two to three years. It reveres a cooler climate and so enjoys our Central Victorian winter.
This years’ Leccino is delicate, rich and buttery. It combines a good balance of fruit driven green olive and grassy notes with a clean and elegant white pepper finish. This clean oil complements fresh seasonal produce at its best.
Best use:
Drizzle on salad leaves, risotto, fresh vegetables – whether roasted or steamed or with your favourite artisan bread.
New Norcia
New Norcia is a varietal that evolved through natural cross-pollination over a century ago at the New Norcia Monastery in Western Australia, where the Benedictine monks produced their own olive oil and baked their own bread. Only a handful of Australian groves propagate this variety, and the hot, dry summers and cold, windy winters of the region seem to suit it very well.
Produced from 185 trees in the grove, the 2009 New Norcia is a distinctively, rich full flavoured and robust oil. Upfront on the palate, with fresh olive richness, nutty and green banana characters in the background. The wonderful buttery viscosity of this oil carries a pinch of bitterness and ends with a long peppery finish.
Best use: Enjoyed by those who enjoy strong and robust oils. The New Norcia can handle the full flavours of roast meats and vegetables as well as rich braises.
