Exeretiko partheno eleolado Thrapsano

Messara is a PDO extra virgin olive oil produced exclusively from Koroneiki variety olives grown in the Messara region of southern Heraklion prefecture, Crete. The specification requires 100 % Koroneiki fruit and mandates that production, transport, cleaning, processing, and grading all take place within the delimited geographical area.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number EL-PDO-0005-0973-14.02.2012, with EU protection dated 14 February 2012, Μεσσαρά (Messara) is an extra virgin olive oil obtained exclusively by mechanical processes from olives of the Koroneiki variety (Olea europea L.), which must constitute 100 % of the raw material. The delimited geographical area lies south-southwest of the Heraklion prefecture, south of the Psiloriti Mountain, north of the Kofina Mountain, and extends to the coast of the Libyan Sea. Under the Kallikratis administration plan, it encompasses the whole of the municipality of Faistos, part of the municipality of Gortina (the municipal units of Rouva, Gortina, and Kofina in their entirety), and part of the municipality of Arhanes–Asterousia (the municipal unit of Asterousia in its entirety). The specification sets mandatory physical-chemical thresholds at bottling, including acidity not exceeding 0,6 % by weight of oleic acid, peroxides not exceeding 8,5 meq O₂/kg, oleic acid content of 75–83 %, total unsaturated fatty acids of at least 84 %, polyphenols of at least 100 mg/kg, and campesterol between 3,8 % and 4 % of total sterols. Organoleptic requirements include a median defect of zero and median fruitiness above 4,0. Production, transport, cleaning, processing, and grading of the olive oil must all be carried out within the identified geographical area.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 14 February 2012 under file number EL-PDO-0005-0973-14.02.2012; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000014038.
• The specification permits no variety other than Koroneiki (100 %) as raw material.
• Campesterol content is required to be at least 3,8 % and no more than 4 % of total sterols, a characteristic attributed to the area's hot and dry climate.
• All stages from olive production and transport through processing and oil grading must take place within the delimited Messara geographical area.

Tasting notes

Cretan regional EVOO designations.

HoReCa use

Cretan cuisine.

Packaging

• glass-bottle-500ml
• tin-3L

Seasonality