Laconiko Estate

Trinisa-Laconia- Greek

On the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese, in Laconia, the Evrotas River finally meets the sea. Just a couple of hundred metres from this estuary, on sandy coastal soils in the area of Trinisa, the Pierrakos family planted what would become the Laconiko estate.

Here the conditions are extreme in a way that olive trees love: up to nine months of intense sunshine, very little rain, constant Mediterranean breezes and perfectly draining sand over gravel. The estate sits inside a Natura 2000–protected area, which means strict limits on pollution and development – a kind of natural shield around the groves. The family farms organically, avoiding synthetic pesticides and fertilisers and managing water carefully so there is no waste or runoff.

Among citrus trees and wild herbs, about 5,000 Koroneiki olive trees grow low and dense, adapted to the salty air and the heat. Koroneiki, a small-fruited Greek variety, is famous for its naturally high polyphenols and its ability to produce intensely aromatic oils even in tough conditions.

The philosophy: real extra virgin or nothing

When Dino and Diamantis started traveling to food shows, they were shocked by how much poor-quality or adulterated “extra virgin” olive oil dominated supermarket shelves. Reports from UC Davis and others confirmed what they were tasting: a high percentage of everyday “extra virgin” oils failed basic chemical and sensory standards.

Laconiko was built in opposition to that. The family’s approach rests on a few non-negotiables:

Single-estate fruit – only olives from their own grove in Trinisa, not anonymous bulk oil.
Early harvest, hand-picked – Koroneiki olives are harvested while still green and firm, then taken in bins (never sacks) and milled within four hours to protect aromas and polyphenols.
Strict chemistry – typical free acidity for Laconiko estate oils sits around 0.09–0.26%, far below the 0.8% legal limit for extra virgin and even below the 0.5% threshold used by California’s stricter standards. Peroxide values are similarly low, signalling freshness and careful handling.
Cool, dark storage – after milling, the oil rests in stainless steel tanks at about 58°F (14°C), protecting it from heat, light and oxygen and extending shelf life while keeping flavours vivid for over two years.

For the Pierrakos family, this is not marketing language; it’s a personal rule. As they often say, they would never give their extended “Laconiko family” anything they wouldn’t put on their own table.

The Groves and Olive variety

Our Koroneiki varietal olive trees, with its high fruit bearing properties and being recognized internationally in having some of the highest polyphenol (antioxidant) bearing properties amongst other olive varieties and with our ideal harvesting methods and weather conditions, ensure that our olive oil is yearly of the highest quality. Our olives are always hand-picked, placed in bins and pressed in less than a 4 hour period of their picking. This level of quality has maintained our standard in producing a single estate 100% Koroneiki varietal extra virgin olive oil with a consistent acidity level (free fatty acid), falling between 0.09%- 0.26%, yearly with a peroxide value always falling between 2.14– 6.9 meq 02/kg.

Our level of quality surpasses all standards set by the International Olive Oil council (IOOC), the international governing body for the olive oil industry, with an olive oil needing to be no higher than 0.8% in acidity and having a peroxide value of no more than 20 meq 02/kg to be graded as Extra virgin olive oil . We also surpass all standards set by the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) with an olive oil needing to be no higher than 0.5% in acidity and having a peroxide value of no more than 15 meq 02/kg to be graded as Extra virgin olive oil.

ZOI and the high-phenolic frontier

In recent years, the Pierrakos family has pushed further into the world of medicinal, ultra–high phenolic olive oils. The most famous expression of that work is ZOI, a limited-production EVOO made from early-harvest Kalamon olives and designed specifically for phenolic density.

Independent lab analyses and data from the World Olive Center for Health in Athens have placed ZOI in an elite group: among thousands of early-harvest samples tested, only a tiny fraction exceed 1,250 mg/kg of total polyphenols. ZOI has reached around 1,397 mg/kg, with about 1,000 mg/kg of oleocanthal alone, making it one of the highest-documented oleocanthal oils in the world.

This level of phenolic content does two things:

Taste – the oil is fiercely alive: intense green fruit, deep herbaceous notes, pronounced bitterness and a peppery, cough-inducing finish that trained tasters look for in serious high-phenolic oils.
Health – oleocanthal and related phenolics (oleacein, hydroxytyrosol and derivatives) are linked in the literature to anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and cardiometabolic benefits.

ZOI has its own string of distinctions – including multiple Gold Medals at NYIOOC and recognition in the EVOO World Ranking, where Laconiko has been rated among the top olive oil producers globally