Perseo – Depalo

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Thank you to Az. Depalo for sending us their Perseo EVOO.

Producer	Az. Depalo
Crop Year	2019/2020
Cultivar	Ogliarola Barese, Coratina
Region	Apulia (Giovinazzo)
Harvesting Method	Mechanical
Extraction Method	Continuous – Cold extraction
Milling	Within 3 hours of collection
Tasted on	May 2020

The legend of Perseus tells that the Greek hero – half God, half human – landed in Puglia in one of his many sea voyages to found there the city of “Jovis Natio”; the metropolis took its name from that of his father Jupiter, and it is known to us today by the name of Giovinazzo.
Just as Perseus was the son of the powerful Jupiter and the beautiful, gentle princess Danae, so this extra virgin oil by Depalo (which name, Perseo, is the Italianization of the Greek name Perseus) is the product of the encounter between the powerful Coratina and the delicate Ogliarola Barese, embodying the souls of the two cultivars in one extra virgin olive oil; the result is a blend which not only well represents the vegetal and dark note of the Coratina combined with the grace and lightness of the Bari Ogliarola, but also something new and unique which goes beyond the mere sum of the two elements which compose it.
Thanks to its flavour notes of artichoke, almond, chicory and pepper, Perseo well matches foods of the most disparate combinations with foods of the most disparate combinations from red meat dishes to vegetable dishes; moreover, the floral and soft presence of the Ogliarola cultivar also allows Perseo’s pairing to lake fish, pasta and white meat.
Perseo is an extra virgin olive oil which will amaze both those who approach the strength of Apulian olive oils for the first time and those who had thought to already know them all.

Read also our review of Danae EVOO and Giove EVOO by Depalo here.

Appearance & Visual Analysis

Perseo EVOO is of a clear, bright lemon yellow color, with vivid green highlights.

Scents & Olfactory analysis

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On the nose, Perseo introduces you to the magical mix between the strong green character of Coratina and the delicacy of the Ogliarola Barese cultivar. Scents of green vegetables such as chicory, spinach, grass, artichoke, thistle and green almond are the main flavours detectable by the nose; along go hints of Chinotto green citrus fruit, scents of light orange flowers and a captivating green mix of Mediterranean aromatic herbs (e.g. rosemary, basil, sage. mint). Pleasant hints of spices – black pepper in particular – complete the picture of the olfactory analysis.

Tasting: Aromas & Flavours

Pungency

Bitterness

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The coherence between the scent and taste of Perseo is particularly consistent, especially in regards to the presence of green vegetable aromas. Green almond, artichoke, grass, green tomato, lettuce, chicory and rosemary play with your taste buds for the whole duration of the tasting. However, bitterness and pungency surprised us above all other things – the two feelings reinforce one another to give the taste a perfectly balanced closure.

We love it with…

Read how to pair food and EVOO in our article: Olive Oil Pairings.

Thanks to its dual origin and nature – Coratina’s strongness, greenness and spiciness, and Ogliarola’s gentleness, and its floral and citrus tones – Perseo can be paired to many different kinds of dishes. However, we would like to recommend its use especially on vegetables, lake fish and white meat, for either appetizers, pasta and main courses.
Starting from appetizers, Perseo is good on vegetable pinzimonio (oil dipping), panzanella (cold soup of stale bread, onion, tomato and basil), eggplant or zucchini parmigiana, caprese or skewers of tomato and mozzarella; in all those dishes, Perseo will highlight the vegetable notes of your preparations, increasing the tastiness of each bite.
As for first courses, Perseo is excellent to marry with vegan and vegetarian preparations, or pasta with white meat, pesto and Genoese meat sauce – the EVOO will add flavour depth and texture to your preparations, enhance spiciness and bind the different natures of the ingredients together.
Second courses and sides – Perseo EVOO is perfect on grilled and baked meat, and on scallops.
Excellent on lake fish, Perseo manages to clean the fish’s rich taste in the mouth while also ennobling it with its aromatic scents; Perseo EVOO can also be paired to grilled sea fish, prawns and crustaceans.

We enjoyed Perseo on round spring courgettes stuffed with potatoes, tomatoes, 24-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, mozzarella and smoked provola; Perseo managed to move the dish away from the sweet trend given by the cheese and the tomatoes, enhancing the taste of the fresh vegetable notes of the dish, adding spiciness and a pleasant pungent feeling on the palate.

Azienda Agricola Depalo

The colours of the sky, the sun, the sea and the earth are enclosed in Azienda Agricola Depalo’s logo, an abstract which leaves your mind free to interpret all the hidden meanings behind it.
“The history of the Depalo family is intertwined with the branches moved by the wind and the perfume of sea breeze. Heavy and illuminated by the sun, the olive trees are full of fruits. Farmers since three generations, the love for the land runs through their veins. With Savino, the third generation, the cultivation of olive trees is facing a new challenge: the production of an excellent extra virgin olive oil.” Depalo website.
Even just from these words, we can perceive that the passion, love and true respect of Depalo for their land, the environment and above all for their olive trees and extra virgin olive oils are true; all that is even more emotionally involving when you try their products – and especially their EVOOs – in which these words become the tangible expression of their philosophy.

AZIENDA AGRICOLA DEPALO
Piazza Duomo, 55
70054 Giovinazzo (BA)
Apulia – Italy
PHONE: +39 331 6443974 | +39 347 5972116
EMAIL: info@oliodepalo.it
Depalo Website

Puglia, or Apulia, is one of the Southern regions of Italy. The climate is Mediterranean: hot and sunny summers, with mild rainy winters. This area is the heart of Italian olive oil production, and when you try EVO oil from Apulia it’s almost as if you could taste the product of the region’s wellness, the intensity of its sun, the strength of its wind, the sweet saltiness of the Adriatic sea – this is the richness of that territory. And when this extraordinary setting meets the enormous skills of the producers and millers of Apulia, you are sure to try one of the best expressions of Extra virgin olive oil.
Discover other regions.

Coratina is an olive cultivar typical of Apulia (Puglia). It’s one of the cultivars with the highest concentration of polyphenols, organic molecules with natural antioxidant characteristics, which confers the oil its strong bitter and pungent notes. Coratina’s EVOOs are also featured by a reduced acid content.

The Ogliarola Barese is the most widespread cultivar in the Bari area, in particular around the village of Bitonto, also known as “the city of olive trees”. Ogliarola Barese olives are characterized by an early ripening and a particularly high yield in olive oil production; this cultivar gives its olive oils delicate vegetable aromas. 
Discover other cultivars.