What International Awards Really Tell You About Quality
July 15, 2026
It is easy to print the word “premium” on a label. It is far more difficult to convince independent tasting panels in New York, Tokyo, Dubai, Monte Carlo and Los Angeles, year after year.
Laudemio from Fattoria San Michele a Torri has received an impressive series of international awards across multiple harvests. For us, the medals are not primarily about decoration. They tell us something far more important, that the quality is recognised again and again, by different experts, in different parts of the world.
What Do the Judges Actually Evaluate?
Behind an international medal lies far more than one judge’s personal preference. In leading olive oil competitions, the oils undergo a structured sensory evaluation carried out by experienced tasting professionals.
In many of the major competitions, the evaluation is conducted blind. The oil is presented without the bottle, label, price or story behind the producer influencing the assessment. The judges are there to evaluate what is actually in the glass.
First comes the aroma. Judges assess the oil’s fruitiness and aromatic character. A high quality oil may reveal distinctive green notes reminiscent of freshly cut grass, artichoke, herbs, green almonds or freshly harvested olives.
Then comes the taste. Here, judges evaluate characteristics such as fruitiness, bitterness and the distinctive peppery sensation at the back of the throat. Bitterness and pepperiness are not necessarily flaws. In a fresh extra virgin olive oil, they can be positive qualities and an important part of the oil’s character.
Judges also consider balance, intensity, complexity and how the different characteristics work together. A powerful olive oil should not simply be bitter or peppery. Aroma, fruitiness, bitterness and pepperiness should come together as a harmonious whole.
Just as important is the search for sensory defects. Rancidity, mustiness, fermented notes, metallic flavours and other undesirable characteristics are taken extremely seriously. In competitions where the rules require an oil to be free from sensory defects, a detectable defect does not simply cost points. It disqualifies the oil.
This is what makes blind evaluation so compelling.
The judge does not see the elegant bottle.
The judge does not know the story of the estate.
The judge does not know the price.
It is the olive oil in the glass that has to convince them.
From a Single Award to a Pattern
One medal tells you that an olive oil impressed an expert panel at a particular moment. But when the same producer is recognised again and again, in New York, Tokyo, Dubai, Monte Carlo and Los Angeles, across several different harvests, the story becomes far more interesting.
Different judges. Different competitions. Different harvests.
And again and again, the quality is recognised.
It is this consistency that makes the collection of international awards far more meaningful than a wall of medals.
From Florence to New York, Tokyo and Dubai
In recent years, Laudemio from Fattoria San Michele a Torri has been recognised by a wide range of international competitions and guides.
2026
- Gold Medal, NYIOOC New York
- Gold Medal, Japan Olive Oil Prize, JOOP
- Gold Medal, JOOTA Tokyo Awards
- Gold Medal, Dubai Olive Oil Competition
- Gold Medal, Monte Carlo Olive Oil Competition
- 3 Foglie, Gambero Rosso 2026/27
2026 so far. More competitions and results are still to come before the year is over.
2025
- Gold Medal, NYIOOC New York
- Gold Medal Organic, Japan Olive Oil Prize
- Gold Medal, JOOTA Tokyo Awards
- Gold Medal, Monte Carlo
- Gold Medal Ultra Premium, Dubai
- Gold Medal, Best of Class and Marco Mugelli Award, Los Angeles
2024
- Gold Medal, New York World Competition
2023
- Gold Medal, New York
- Gold Medal, Dubai
- Gold Medal, Japan Olive Oil Prize
- Platinum Medal, London
- Platinum Medal, Canada
2022
- Gold Medal, Los Angeles International EVOO Competition
One Medal Can Be Luck. Year After Year Is a System.
Olive oil is a product of nature. Climate, temperature, rainfall and the timing of the harvest mean that no two harvests are ever exactly the same.
Producing an award winning olive oil once tells you something about the quality of a single harvest. Being recognised internationally again and again, across different harvests, tells you something more.
It tells you there is a system behind it.
A system that begins in the olive grove and continues through the timing of the harvest, the journey from tree to mill, extraction, filtration and storage.
At Fattoria San Michele a Torri, this entire journey remains under the producer’s control. The estate’s own modern olive mill allows the olives to be processed within 12 hours of harvesting, preserving as much of the oil’s freshness, aroma and character as possible.
When the result is then recognised by different tasting panels, in different countries, over several years, it is no longer one medal that matters.
It is the ability to deliver the same exceptional quality, year after year.
What Does That Mean for You?
When you open a bottle of Laudemio from Fattoria San Michele a Torri, you are not buying quality simply because we tell you it is good.
You are buying an olive oil from a producer whose work has been evaluated and recognised internationally, year after year.
Different harvests. Different competitions. Different countries.
The same uncompromising ambition.
Taste It for Yourself
Ultimately, of course, the medals should not make the final decision.
The taste should.
Discover Laudemio Harvest 2025, the estate’s award winning top selection, and taste why Fattoria San Michele a Torri continues to attract attention far beyond Tuscany.
The medals do not create the quality. They confirm it.