If you are looking for the best pure olive oil in the world, you don’t need to look further than near De Rust in the Oudtshoorn area.

De Rustica Olive Estate Coratina recently won both the ‘Best in Class’ and the ‘Absolute Best Olive Oil’ medals at the EVOOLEUM Awards in Spain.

The EVOOLEUM competition, one of the largest and strictest global olive oil competitions worldwide, assesses and judges Extra Virgin Olive Oils (EVOOs) from all over the world.

This year, a panel of 26 judges from 10 countries blind-tasted nearly 1 000 samples from scores of global producers – and South Africa’s De Rustica came out on top.

It’s the first time in the eight editions of the Awards that neither a Spanish nor Italian olive oil has been proclaimed EVOOLEUM ABSOLUTE BEST.

De Rustica Estate Collection Coratina scored an impressive 97 points out of 100!

De Rustica Olive Estate was founded in 2005 by Rob Still, a successful mining businessman, and located in the heart of the Klein Karoo, deep in the picturesque Swartberg Mountains of the Southern Cape.

Still says in the statement “the prize is testimony to the entire De Rustica team’s passion and commitment”.

According to De Rustica, the award is a significant achievement not only for the estate itself, but also for South Africa and the South African olive oil industry because the industry is mainly dominated by the Mediterranean region.

Vittoria Jooste, CEO of SA Olive, has congratulated De Rustica on their truimph.

“This accolade proves once again that that South African olive producers can compete internationally and win major awards around the world. De Rustica’s achievement is further testament to the fact that South African EVOO, as verified by SA Olive’s Commitment to Compliance (CTC) scheme, is truly world-class.”

Congratulations for De Rustica also poured in on social media platforms, among others from De Rust Toerisme.

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