🫒 Lastovka

Lastovka is a Croatian olive cultivar grown for oil, native to the coast and islands of Central Dalmatia. It is most common on the island of Korčula, while across Croatia it makes up no more than 10 % of trees in orchards. According to the World Catalogue of Olive Varieties of the International Olive Council (IOC), it is the third most propagated cultivar in Croatian nurseries.

The tree is vigorous, grows upright, roots easily and flowers early. The cultivar cannot pollinate itself; the best pollinators are Drobnica, Levantinka and Oblica. Yields are high and steady, the fruit ripens late, holds firmly on the branches and turns dark purple when ripe. The oil yield is medium, about 20 %.

Lastovka is very sensitive to cold and olive knot, but resistant to olive leaf spot and the olive fruit fly.

The cultivar is the backbone of Korčulansko maslinovo ulje, an oil protected in the EU since 2016: at least 80 % of it comes from Lastovka and Drobnica, which together make up 80 % of the olives on Korčula. The groves here grow on terraces behind dry stone walls. According to the single document, the oil of these two cultivars contains over 350 mg of phenols per kilogram, more than twice as much as Oblica and Levantinka, and Lastovka has the most hydroxytyrosol of all, 214 mg/kg.

What to look for on the bottle. Korčula oil from Lastovka is bitter and pungent, of medium to strong intensity, with aromas of green fruit and olive leaf. That sharpness points to an oil rich in phenols and is no defect. The name Korčulansko maslinovo ulje on the bottle guarantees that the oil rests on the island's own cultivars.