Why Vassilakis Estate Is a Premium Greek Olive Oil
1,413mg/kg polyphenols. 0.2% acidity. Temperature-controlled from Crete to your door.
Premium Greek Olive Oil Australia
The numbers behind exceptional olive oil
Vassilakis Estate extra virgin olive oil is one of the finest olive oils available in Australia and the numbers behind it tell you exactly why. With a polyphenol content of 1,413mg per kilogram and an acidity level of just 0.2%, this is not a marketing claim. It is measurable, verifiable quality from a family who has been producing exceptional olive oil in the Mirabello region of Crete since 1865.
Furthermore, quality at the source means nothing if it is lost in transit. Vassilakis Estate travels to Australia in a temperature-controlled environment for the entire journey so the oil that leaves Crete is the oil that arrives in your kitchen. In this post, we break down exactly what those numbers mean and why every decision, from harvest to your door, reflects an uncompromising standard.
Produced exclusively from Koroneiki olives grown on the family's own estate, this is an early harvest, first cold-pressed oil made in small quantities and handled with the same care it has been for over 160 years.
Polyphenol Content · Vassilakis Estate EVOO
1,413
mg per kilogram
More than five times the European threshold for a high-polyphenol olive oil and up to ten times higher than a typical supermarket extra virgin.
Typical Supermarket EVOO
100–200
mg/kg. Most olive oils labelled "extra virgin" fall in this range or below.
EU High-Polyphenol Threshold
250
mg/kg. The European Food Safety Authority approved health claim benchmark.
Vassilakis Estate
1,413
mg/kg. Early harvest Koroneiki olives, cold pressed on the estate in Crete.
Why It Matters
What are polyphenols and why does 1,413mg/kg matter?
Polyphenols are natural plant compounds found in extra virgin olive oil. They are responsible for the characteristic peppery sting at the back of the throat that quality olive oil leaves and they are the primary reason olive oil has been associated with so many long-term health benefits in the Mediterranean diet. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants that protect against oxidative stress and have strong anti-inflammatory properties.
The European Food Safety Authority has officially approved a health claim for high-polyphenol olive oils: oils containing at least 250mg/kg can carry the claim that they contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress. Most supermarket olive oils, even those labelled extra virgin, do not reach that threshold.
Vassilakis Estate contains 1,413mg per kilogram more than five times that benchmark. That concentration is the direct result of three compounding decisions: the Koroneiki olive variety (naturally high in polyphenols), the early harvest timing (picking before full ripeness preserves the highest phenolic levels), and the cold-press extraction method, which captures those compounds without heat degradation. Each decision compounds the next, and the result is an oil that sits in an entirely different category from almost anything else available in Australia.
0.2%
Acidity
Low acidity is not about taste it is a measure of quality
When olives are damaged, poorly harvested, stored incorrectly or processed too slowly, their cell walls break down and free fatty acids form. The more free fatty acids present, the higher the acidity and the lower the quality. Extra virgin olive oil must sit below 0.8% acidity to carry that classification. However, the best olive oils in the world sit far below that ceiling.
Vassilakis Estate has an acidity level of 0.2% a quarter of the maximum permitted level for extra virgin classification. At this level, the olives were harvested at precisely the right moment, processed without delay and handled with exceptional care at every stage. Low acidity also correlates directly with flavour: the intensely fruity, aromatic character and the clean peppery finish that Vassilakis Estate is known for are both expressions of how low that number sits.
0.2% Vassilakis Estate
0.8% EVOO maximum
Quality that doesn't diminish on the journey to Australia
Here is something most olive oil importers don't talk about: what happens to the oil between the estate and your kitchen matters just as much as how the oil is made.
Olive oil is a living product. Heat, light and oxygen degrade it. An oil that leaves Crete as an exceptional extra virgin can arrive in a destination market diminished its polyphenols degraded, its flavour flattened simply because of how it was transported. This is one of the most overlooked quality failures in the olive oil industry.
At Galanis Foods, Vassilakis Estate is transported from Crete to Australia in a temperature-controlled environment for the entire journey. Not part of the journey. The entire journey. The cold chain is maintained from the moment the oil leaves the estate to the moment it arrives with us in Melbourne.
As a result, the oil that arrives in Australia is the same oil that left Crete. The polyphenol content does not degrade. The acidity does not rise. The flavour does not flatten. What the Vassilakis family produces on their estate in Mirabello Bay is precisely what you open in your kitchen.
Journey
Crete to Melbourne entire route temperature controlled
Polyphenols on arrival
1,413mg/kg unchanged from the estate
Acidity on arrival
0.2% no rise in transit
Packaging
Dark glass bottle to protect from light degradation
160 Years of Excellence
Three reasons Vassilakis Estate is different
01
Early Harvest Koroneiki
The Koroneiki olive variety is native to Crete and naturally among the highest in polyphenol content of any olive. Vassilakis Estate harvests early before full ripeness which is harder, lower-yield and more labour-intensive, but produces the deepest flavour and the highest concentration of beneficial compounds. The family has grown these olives on the Mirabello Bay estate since 1865.
02
First Cold Press
The oil is made from the first cold pressing of selected olives meaning no heat is applied, which would degrade polyphenols and flatten flavour. First cold press is the gold standard of extraction, and combined with early harvest Koroneiki olives, it is why the polyphenol content reaches 1,413mg/kg. Heat takes shortcuts. Cold pressing does not.
03
Estate Grown & Bottled
Vassilakis Estate oil is produced exclusively from the family's own olive groves not blended from purchased olives, not sourced from multiple farms. The family controls the entire process from tree to bottle on their own land. That traceability is rare, and it is what makes the quality both achievable and consistent from one harvest to the next.
In the Kitchen
How to use Vassilakis Estate olive oil
With a flavour profile this complex intensely fruity, aromatic, clean and peppery at the finish Vassilakis Estate is best used where the oil itself can be tasted. Use it as a finishing oil and for dipping rather than for high-heat cooking where those qualities would be lost.
Finishing OilDrizzle over roasted vegetables, grilled fish, soups or pasta just before serving. The heat of the food blooms the aroma.
Bread & DippingPour into a shallow bowl with a pinch of sea salt and a few herbs. The fruitiness and peppery finish speak for themselves.
Salad DressingsUse as the base of any vinaigrette. The complexity carries the whole dish without needing much else.
Over Cheese & BurrataDrizzle generously over fresh burrata, labne or feta. One of the simplest and most rewarding uses for a great oil.
EggsSpooned over poached or fried eggs, Vassilakis Estate transforms a weekday breakfast into something worth paying attention to.
As a GiftAvailable in multiple sizes. Pair with our Kimi dried figs for a gift that needs no explanation.
We absorb the cost of temperature-controlled shipping because the alternative letting an oil of this quality travel to Australia any other way is simply not something we are willing to do.Galanis Foods Melbourne, est. 2015
