2006 Results - Royal National Capital Agricultural Society

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2006 Royal Canberra Extra Virgin Olive Oil Show Comments from the Chairman of Judges The overall standard of olive oils submitted to this show continues to improve. The 2006 entries were of a very good to excellent standard, and were an improvement on the oils produced from the difficult 2005 season. In particular the small volume classes were very strong as is evidenced by the very strong showing of medals awarded in this class. Probably the most important trend is the move away from a dominance of robust oils based on Italian varieties towards a greater diversity in terms of variety and style. For the first time, oils displaying characters other than a dominant herbaceousness were in the majority, as were the medium to mild styles. Given the popularity of milder and riper oils in the marketplace, this trend is very welcomed. Indeed one might argue that their rise to greater prominence is overdue. Crafting these styles does present new challenges. Making oils from ripe olives that do not display fermentation characters, or making mild oils that are vibrant and fresh is a difficult skill to master. I’m pleased to say that many of the milder and riper styles of exhibits showed the necessary hallmarks of freshness and vitality. Their growers and millers should be congratulated. The larger volume multiple estate class was consistent. While there were few standouts, the fact that they were fresh, very serviceable and of a good quality is encouraging. Many of these oils will find their way onto supermarket shelves and therefore will be the flag-bearers of our industry. While some small producers may not concern themselves too greatly with the machinations of the ‘big end of town’ it is worth noting that consumer opinion of Australian olive oil in general, is most strongly formed on the strength of the widely available Australian supermarket oils. So in reality their standard affects us all. This show is unique in that it is the only capital city show which has a class dedicated to local producers. While this may be seen as some as being parochial, the reality is that the class is judged using the same standards as any other class in the show. However, there is a distinct advantage of having a dedicated class to local producers. It allows opinions to be formed as to the quality and direction of the locally produced product. After reviewing my previous reports it is clear that over the years there has been a distinct separation of oils both in terms of style and overall quality. This year, as in the past four, some of the best (or the best) oil has been locally produced. Unfortunately the local class has always had a representation of overly bitter metallic oils which were short on fruit and sometimes freshness. I’m not in a position to speculate why this is the case. However, I did note that the average polyphenol level in this class was over 350 parts per million (ppm) which is far higher than the typical show average of 250 ppm, and (I estimate) a commercial average of under 200 ppm. As a general rule, when oils exceed a polyphenol level of 350 ppm it is likely that they will display excessive bitterness and metallic characters, and at 500 ppm it is almost a certainty. While robust oils will always have a legitimate and important place in the olive oil world, the usability and culinary versatility of excessively bitter oils is questionable. Finally I’d like to thank all the judges and the stewards for their efforts. In particular, the efforts of the chief steward Suzanne Coulton need to be recognised. Her work once again ensured a smooth and fair conduct of this excellent show. Richard Gawel CHAIRPERSON Page 2
2006 Royal Canberra Extra Virgin Olive Oil Show Judging Criteria All entries were received by the Chief Steward, who was the only person to know the identity of each oil until the results were published. The Chief Steward allocated each exhibit an ID for testing and tasting and this was the only identification used on bottles. There were three steps in the judging process. 1. A sample of each entry was sent to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga for analysis of its Free Fatty Acid (expressed as % of oleic acid), which was not to exceed 0.8%. 2. Before judging, each entry was decanted into identical bottles marked only with the exhibit ID known only by the Chief Steward. This step was taken to ensure the judges had no idea as to the identity of the oils. Assessment of each oil meeting the FFA standard against the Australian Olive Association’s (AOA) 20 point scoring system, awarding gold medals to those oils that scored 17.0 or higher, silver medals to those scoring 15.0 to 16.5 and bronze medals to those scoring 13.0 to 14.5. Judges awarded points on the basis of lack of defects, aroma and flavour, freshness, balance and complexity. The judges individually scored each oil in the Class(es) assigned to them. The members of each panel discussed the individual scores and reached a consensus score and award (if applicable) for each oil. Each panel presented their recommendations to the Chairman of Judges who then compared the results from the other panels to ensure consistency across classes. 3. Another tasting of all gold medal oils was conducted to determine the Best Oil of the Show. All gold medal oils were eligible for the award of Best Oil of Show. All the judges (excluding the Chairman and associate judges) were presented with the candidate oils which were anonymously relabelled A. B. C. etc. The judges independently ranked the oils in order of quality (a rank of 1 for their best oil, 2 for 2nd best etc). The Chief Steward then totalled the ranks. The oil with the lowest sum is awarded the Best Oil of Show. As two of the judges had oils in this stage, their rankings were anonymously precluded from the total. The other judges were not made aware of this so as to not bias their opinion of any of the candidate oils. Page 3
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2006 Results - Royal National Capital Agricultural Society

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