Lesvos olive oil wins top quality award
The olive oils of Lesvos come from a cultivar the rest of the world rarely meets, grown on volcanic hillsides on the eastern edge of the Aegean. When one of them wins a medal, it is worth knowing what that medal does and does not tell you.
Greece is usually discussed as Koroneiki country, and with reason: the small Peloponnesian cultivar dominates the national crop and most Greek oil in export markets. Lesvos is the interesting exception. The big island in the north-eastern Aegean grows mainly Kolovi, also known locally as Mytilinia, a variety that covers a very large share of the island’s trees and is barely planted anywhere else. That makes Lesvos oil a genuinely different drink rather than a regional variation on a familiar theme.
The island and its trees
Lesvos is a volcanic island, and its olive groves climb terraced slopes that in places rise steeply from the sea. The concentration is in the south and east, around Plomari and Agiasos, with more in the hinterland of the Gulf of Kalloni. The trees are old, many of them very old, and the terrain means a great deal of picking is still done with nets and combs rather than machines.
Olive oil is not a sideline here. Along with the island’s other famous product, it is the backbone of the rural economy, and the landscape of stone terraces and old mills is the physical record of that. A number of nineteenth and early twentieth century mills survive, some as museums, because industrial-scale milling arrived on Lesvos early and left buildings behind.
What Kolovi tastes like
Kolovi gives an oil that is a genuine alternative to the Greek mainstream. It is generally described as more delicate and subtle in aroma than the assertive, grassy Koroneiki style, while still carrying good phenolic content — a combination that is unusual and, for many palates, extremely attractive. Expect a softer, rounder oil with restrained bitterness, a gentle peppery finish, and an aromatic quality that leans herbal and faintly fruity rather than aggressively green.
That profile makes it a fine table oil in the literal sense: something to pour over vegetables, pulses, grilled fish or fresh cheese without flattening them. It is also, incidentally, why Lesvos oil often surprises people who have decided that Greek oil means one thing. The island’s PGI recognition reflects that distinctiveness, and single-estate bottlings from Lesvos win international awards regularly.
| Kolovi (Lesvos) | Koroneiki (mainland Greece) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where grown | Lesvos, dominant on the island | Peloponnese, Crete and widely elsewhere |
| Fruit | Small to medium, harvested late autumn to winter | Very small, high oil content |
| Aroma | Subtle, herbal, restrained | Grassy, green, assertive |
| Bitterness and pungency | Moderate; gentler on the palate | Often pronounced |
| Best use | Raw over vegetables, pulses, fish, fresh cheese | Raw where a bold green oil is wanted |
| Availability abroad | Limited, mainly specialist retail | Widely exported |
What an olive oil award actually proves
Now the sceptical part, because we owe you that. International olive oil competitions are judged by trained sensory panels on samples the producer submits, usually shortly after harvest. A medal is real evidence of three things: the oil had no sensory defects, it showed positive attributes with some intensity, and the producer cared enough to enter and pay the fee.
Here is what it does not prove. It says nothing about the bottle in front of you, which may be from a different lot and a later season, and which has certainly aged since the sample was judged. It says nothing about the whole production, since a producer may enter their best tank. Competitions with many categories award a great many medals, so the scarcity of the honour varies enormously between contests. And a producer who does not enter is not thereby worse — plenty of excellent small growers never bother.
Treat a medal as a strong signal that a producer can make good oil, not as a guarantee about the specific bottle. The harvest date on that bottle remains the more useful number.
- Look for the year the medal was won and whether it matches the oil you are buying.
- Prefer awards from panels that publish their judging method and use trained tasters.
- A harvest date beats a medal every time when you are choosing between two bottles.
- Try Kolovi if you find the standard green Greek style too aggressive.
- Buy small and finish it — subtle oils show their age faster than bold ones.
Lesvos olive oil: common questions
What is Kolovi?
The dominant olive cultivar of Lesvos, also called Mytilinia. It accounts for a very large share of the island’s trees and is little planted elsewhere, which makes Lesvos oil genuinely distinctive.
How does Lesvos oil differ from mainland Greek oil?
It is generally subtler and more aromatic, with more restrained bitterness than the assertive, grassy Koroneiki style that dominates Greek exports, while still carrying good phenolic content.
Where on Lesvos are the olives grown?
Mainly in the south and east of the island, around Plomari and Agiasos, with further groves in the hinterland of the Gulf of Kalloni, on terraced volcanic slopes.
Does an award mean the bottle I buy is excellent?
Not necessarily. The medal was given to a sample from a particular lot and season. It shows the producer can make good oil; the harvest date on your bottle tells you about the oil you are actually buying.
How should I use a Lesvos oil?
Raw. Its subtlety is wasted in a hot pan — pour it over vegetables, pulses, grilled fish or fresh cheese where the aroma reaches you.
Medals are useful the way a good reference is useful : they tell you someone competent vouched for this producer once. They do not tell you what happened to the oil afterwards, and oil is a perishable thing. I have opened plenty of gold-medal bottles that spent two summers on a warm shelf and tasted of nothing at all. If you want the medal to mean something, buy the current harvest, keep it dark and cool, and drink it while it is young.
Drawn from Greek varietal records for Lesvos, the island’s protected geographical indication, and standard olive oil competition practice.