Frantoio and Coratina — The Two Varieties Behind Kardella's Early Harvest Oil

When John Leonard planted his first olive trees on the family property in Kardella, South Gippsland, the choice of variety wasn't accidental. Frantoio and Coratina are two of the most respected cultivars in the world of premium extra virgin olive oil — and together, they produce something genuinely special.

Understanding what each variety brings helps explain not just what's in the bottle, but why.

Frantoio — the Tuscan workhorse

Frantoio is the backbone of Tuscan olive oil. Originally from the hills around Florence, it has been cultivated for centuries and is now grown across the olive-producing world — from Italy to Australia, California to South Africa. It is prized for a reason.

Frantoio produces oil with a distinctly herbaceous, complex character. Expect fresh-cut grass, green tomato, artichoke, and a medium to robust bitterness with a clean, lingering finish. It has a medium-high polyphenol content, excellent stability, and a flavour profile that is both versatile and distinctive.

It is also particularly well suited to early harvest production. Picked before full ripeness, Frantoio delivers a more intense expression of its herbaceous character — brighter, greener, more alive. Left to ripen fully, the flavour softens and rounds. For an early harvest oil, Frantoio picked at the right moment is hard to beat.

Kardella's grove is 80% Frantoio. It forms the foundation of our Early Harvest — the body, the complexity, and the long herbaceous finish.

Coratina — the polyphenol powerhouse

If Frantoio is the heart of the blend, Coratina is the intensity. Originally from the Puglia region of southern Italy, Coratina is consistently one of the highest polyphenol-producing varieties in the world. Studies have repeatedly shown Coratina oils topping comparative analyses for hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol derivatives — the key polyphenol families associated with olive oil's health benefits.

Coratina oil is bold. Robustly bitter, intensely peppery, with a powerful finish that announces itself clearly. On its own it can be almost overwhelming — which is why it works so well as a blending variety, bringing intensity and nutritional weight to complement the more complex, nuanced character of Frantoio.

At 20% of the Kardella blend, Coratina does exactly that. It lifts the polyphenol content, amplifies the pepper finish, and adds a depth and staying power that a pure Frantoio oil wouldn't have.

Why this blend, and why South Gippsland?

The Frantoio/Coratina combination is not unique to Kardella — it's a pairing used by some of the best producers in Australia and Italy precisely because the two varieties complement each other so well. But what is unique is where we grow them.

South Gippsland is not traditionally associated with olive production. It's better known for dairy, beef, and some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Victoria. But the climate has proven well suited to both varieties — cool enough to provide the stress that concentrates polyphenols in the fruit, with enough warmth through the growing season to bring the olives to that precise early harvest window.

From our grove, on a clear day, you can see Wilson's Promontory. The trees have been in the ground since 2017. The roots go deep. And in 2026, for the first time, we pressed a commercial harvest from this land.

The result is an oil that carries the character of both varieties and the particular quality of this corner of Victoria. Robust, peppery, herbaceous, and intensely fresh. That's Frantoio and Coratina, grown in South Gippsland, pressed early, and bottled without filtration.