Impact
The Grandaddy of them all; the pre-Guanaja Guanaja. Before Valrhona called attention to itself by inaugurating the concept of named-origins with its Grand Cru line, Bonnat had already been quietly doing it - since 1904, but only officially christened so 80 years later. A year after that, in 1985, Valrhona grabbed the spotlight, similar to Van Houten obtaining a patent in 1828 for separating cacáo oil or butter from the cocoa mass, a process Mesoamericans were practicing as early as... the 1600s.
For over a century now, this daredevil - Puerto Cabello - has gone about its business, just bringing the thunder & lightening. Red, white & blue fruits at full mast; add black for gravitas. A bar deserving a pledge of allegiance.
Appearance 5 / 5
| Color: | red-embedded brown |
| Surface: | jaw-dropping perfection |
| Temper: | shines |
| Snap: | shears sharp & strong |
Aroma 7.7 / 10
softly potent: cherry chocolate cream & more reds (currant) piercing thru -> filtered coffee -> deep forest (balata bush & clary sage)
Mouthfeel 11.4 / 15
| Texture: | further desertification would be bone dry; suits terrain just fine |
| Melt: | possessed & impeded (for good cause – long lasting flavor) |
Flavor 46.6 / 50
pert beginning: bitter-lactic acid (cultured cream) -> rolls over blackened blue & red (black cherry -> blueberry) which temporarily holds alkalis back but there’s no getting away as underlying bitter returns chicory root & wild hazelnut, then a complex too manifold to call coffee – i.e., wattleseed -> cross-braces beautifully w/ vanilla & a jots of fennel, rosehips, + almost all-spice -> rides out on teeny wood ear mushroom / café drip
Quality 18.9 / 20
Deft bitter control (could be alienating for some) + acidity keeps supplying range, packaged en masse that finesses bigness: a blockbuster without overpowering (think martial arts). Solid musculature, tremendously virile, yet maintains poise & balance for masculine grace