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OLIVE OIL HAS BEEN produced in Greece for more than 5,000 years, and records show it was being crafted in the Greek state of Lakonia (also known as Lacedaemonia) on the Peloponnese Peninsula by 1,500 B.C. With an intention of making the finest olive oil available in the United States, Dr. Peter Panagota- cos, a California-born dermatologist living in San Francisco, planted 4,000 Koroneiki olive trees in his ancient ancestral village of Lykovouno in 1985 (Lykovouno is situated on the southeastern slopes of the valley surrounding Lakonia's capital, Sparta). Each vintage of Lykovouno Olive Oil is USDA Certified Organic and is subject to stringent chemical analysis and evaluation by an independent laboratory certifying it as extra virgin olive oil. The acid content was as low as 0.12 percent in the 2016 vintage, and this year's analysis shows the acidity level at 0.18 percent. (According to the Interna- tional Olive Council, extra virgin olive oil is defined as having free acidity of no more than 0.8 percent.) We recently sampled the last two vintages—2017 and 2018—of Lykovouno single-varietal olive oil and came away very impressed. Read on for our tasting notes: Tasting Greece's PHOTO COURTESY OF LYKOVOUNO LYKOVOUNO EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL FROM THE PELOPONNESE PENINSULA UPHOLDS AN ANCIENT TRADITION by David Gadd For more information, including recipes, visit lykovouno.com. Lykovouno Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2017 Beautiful to the eye, with a haunting, limpid, transparent hue that shifts sub- tly between lemon yellow and spring green; soft and inviting on the palate, with delicate hints of citrusy Meyer lemon and fresh-baked bread; opulent and lavish on the palate with under- stated terroir-driven minerality and a soft, lengthy finish. Lykovouno Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2018 Rich, iridescent citrine in color with gold high- lights that shimmer against white porcelain; redolent of full- blown summer and ripe olives with distinct earthy notes; more forward in palate presence than the 2017 with a more masculine style and finish. Lykovouno Olive Oil now comes in a dark bottle to protect it against light damage. Each vintage of Lykovouno Olive Oil is subject to stringent chemical analysis and evaluation by an independent laboratory certifying it as extra virgin olive oil. 2 0 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t Olive Oil Ambrosial ■cr HEALTHY HEART

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