Demystifying La Belle Excuse Extra Virgin Olive Oils: Differences, Flavours, and Culinary Uses
There is an impressive number of olive oil varieties, whether used for everyday meals or as a finishing touch on favourite dishes. Made from black or green olives, harvested early or at maturity, pressed alone or with fresh herbs, La Belle Excuse olive oils are unique and will find a special place in your pantry.
A Greek olive oil from our family land
All our olive oils are produced from olives grown and pressed the same day on our family land in Greece to preserve the full aromatic richness of the olive, its natural texture, and its polyphenols.
The Mediterranean climate, with its sunshine, sea breezes, and rocky soils, offers ideal conditions for developing oils with bold, concentrated, and naturally robust aromas.
It is above all their balance that makes Greek olive oils truly unique: a beautiful aromatic intensity and a marked freshness, with a clean fruitiness, a controlled bitterness, and a slightly peppery finish.
Extra virgin olive oil for everyday cooking
Green Olive Oil: Fresh and Vibrant
Made from Koroneiki olives harvested at early maturity, towards the end of November, this extra virgin olive oil is cold-pressed the same day to preserve the freshness of the fruit.
Flavour Profile
A vibrant green fruitiness, marked by notes of freshly cut grass, fresh tomato, and green almond; a velvety texture; and a slightly peppery finish.
Culinary Uses
Ideal for enlivening dishes and adding freshness and depth: fresh salads, tartares, vegetable soups, grilled fish, or roasted vegetables.
Black Olive Oil: Smooth and Round
Produced from Mavrolia olives harvested at their youngest ripeness in late October and pressed the same day, this unfiltered extra virgin olive oil naturally settles for two months, eliminating any residue that could be harmful during cooking.
Thanks to its climate and rich terroir, the Trifilia region produces exceptional olives that yield an oil with a distinctive flavour and less than 0.3% acidity.
Flavour Profile
Notes of fresh olives, a mild and floral taste, a hint of ripe fruit, a lovely roundness on the palate, and a peppery finish.
Culinary Uses
Perfect for everyday cooking: fish, pasta, roasted vegetables, and even pastries!
Laurent Dagenais X La Belle Excuse Olive Oil: Everyday Balance
Created in collaboration with chef Laurent Dagenais, this blend perfectly combines these two profiles: the vibrancy of Koroneiki (green oil), the roundness of Mavrolïa (black oil), and a touch of intensity from Agorelio. A versatile oil that balances all types of dishes.
Flavour Profile
Green fruitiness, fresh herbs, green almond, velvety texture, delicately peppery finish.
Culinary Uses
Use freely, from appetizers to desserts, whether on toast with your favourite jam, for sautéing or roasting vegetables, for grilling chicken and seafood, or as a substitute for butter in desserts.
Gaïa Rezerva: Harmony and Elegance
An organic blend of Koroneiki and Mavrolïa, Gaïa Rezerva strikes a perfect balance between freshness and roundness. It is smooth with a perfectly balanced character, enhancing dishes without overpowering them.
Flavour Profile
Fresh herbaceous notes and a delicately peppery finish.
Culinary Uses
Fresh salads, roasted vegetables, grilled fish, burrata.
Finishing extra virgin olive oils
Agorelio Organic Olive Oil: Intensity and Benefits
The Agorelio oil is produced from green Koroneiki olives harvested before full maturity, a rarer process that yields a highly expressive oil. This early harvest allows for a high concentration of polyphenols, known for their antioxidant properties.
Agorelio is lively, aromatic, and intensely fragrant. It is for lovers of characterful olive oils who seek both flavour and health benefits.
Flavour Profile
Pronounced green fruitiness, powerful herbaceous notes, tomato leaf, green almond, long peppery finish.
Culinary Uses
Grilled meats, bitter vegetables, legumes, salads, or fresh bread.
Raw Olive Oil: Olive oil in its purest form
From the very first Mavrolia harvest in the fall, at the end of October, this oil is pressed and bottled almost immediately. Unfiltered and undecanted, it retains all the olive's essence, giving it a slightly cloudy texture. This unique oil, designed to be enjoyed raw, is available only once a year.
Flavour Profile
Herbaceous, bitter, peppery, intensely green.
Culinary Uses
Ideal as a finishing touch: salad, toast, soup, fish or pasta, fresh bread, and enjoyed neat, with tomatoes, burrata. An essential for your favorite Mediterranean dishes!
Fresh Basil Olive Oil: Delicacy and Elegance
Made from Koroneiki olives pressed with fresh basil, this oil is distinguished by its remarkable freshness. The basil is mixed with the olive paste during production, then the oil is extracted by centrifugation to capture the full intensity and purity of the aromas.
The result: a delicately flavoured oil with fresh, natural basil notes.
Flavour Profile
Aromatic, with a strong basil presence, fresh herbaceous notes, a light lemony note, a lovely length on the palate, and a delicately peppery finish.
Culinary Uses
Perfect for enhancing tomato sauce or pesto, or simply to enjoy on tomatoes, avocado, burrata, fresh mozzarella, or fresh bread.
Which olive oil should you choose?
When it comes to choosing an olive oil, there's no wrong choice: each La Belle Excuse oil has a unique taste and properties that will enhance your dishes, for both casual and special occasions. The ideal solution? Keep more than one on hand to vary your choices!
