2013 is the first year of the Absa Top 5 SA Olive Oils Awards. The 100 entries of the SA Olive Awards are blind tasted by a judging panel of 7 experts and allocated points based on quality. The points determine whether they get a gold, silver or bronze award in the SA Olive Awards. The top 20 scoring oils are then blind judged by a panel of 8, 6 from the SA Olive Awards panel and two externals.
The top 5 highest scorers become the Absa Top 5 Olive Oils. These are the best olive oils in South Africa, in the 2013 harvest. Because the judging is done blind throughout the process, the judges do not know who the top 5 are until the official announcements of the awards. In fact the top 20 are not known except by seeing who has been invited to the Top 5 awards lunch!
Here are the top 20 oils which qualified for the Absa Top 5 competition (in aphabetical order):
Bakenshoogte – Bakenshoogte (Intense)
De Rustica Olive – Private Press – Intense Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Intense)
De Rustica Olive – Private Press – Medium Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
De Rustica Olive – Private Press – Delicate Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Delicate)
Gabrielskloof – Gabrielskloof Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Intense)
Kleinood – De Boerin Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Kloovenburg Olives – Kloovenburg Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Marbrin Farm – Marbrin Olive Growers Mild (Medium)
Marbrin Farm – Marbrin Olive Growers Delicate (Delicate)
Morgenster Estate – Morgenster Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Oakhurst Olives – Oakhurst Delicate Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Delicate)
Olivi – Olivi Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Porterville Olives – Andante Intenso (Intense)
Porterville Olives – Andante Forte Intensely Fruity (Intense)
Porterville Olives – Andante Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Porterville Olives – Andante Delicate Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Delicate)
Rio Largo Olive Estate – Rio Largo Premium Blend (Intense)
Rio Largo Olive Estate – Rio Largo Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Tokara – Tokara Premium Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Eenzaamheid Olive Estate – Zaamheid Medium Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Medium)
Porterville with a strong showing, 4 of their oils in the top 20. De Rustica had 3 oils in the top 20 and Rio Largo and Marbrin had 2 each.
- London International Olive oil Competitions 2018 - December 15, 2017
- 3 Chocolate & Olive Oil Recipes For Heart Health - December 8, 2017
- 10 Awesome Local Olive Oil Packaging Designs - November 24, 2017