Leccino olives
Italy’s gentle, dependable oil olive — Frantoio’s classic blending partner.
The Leccino is one of Italy’s most widely planted oil olives, valued for being hardy, early-ripening and reliable. On its own it gives a softer, rounder, less bitter oil than the Frantoio it is so often blended with — the two together are the backbone of classic central-Italian extra virgin. It also tolerates cold and disease better than many, which has made it a favourite for new plantings worldwide.
- Origin
- Central Italy (Tuscany)
- Type
- Oil olive
- Flavour (oil)
- Mild, round, sweet
- Ripens
- Early, to black
- Traits
- Hardy, disease-tolerant
- Best for
- Blending; gentle everyday oil
The dependable one
If Frantoio is the character actor, Leccino is the steady lead. Its oil is mellow and approachable, low in bitterness, with a clean fruitiness — which is exactly why it is blended with stronger olives to round them off. As a tree it is generous and forgiving, ripening early and resisting cold and some diseases, so growers from Italy to Australia and California rely on it.
A “Tuscan blend” you enjoy is very often mostly Frantoio and Leccino — the Leccino doing the quiet work of making the oil easy to love. On its own it is a fine, gentle introduction to single-variety oils for anyone who finds Coratina or Picual too aggressive.