Sambirano Valley 2016
Montserrat Hills 2016
by Bar au Chocolat
Impact
From the valley to the hills, the dale to the knolls, twixt the plains & the glades, all the way to land's end... along the Pacific coast where this barsmith -- Nicole de Bar-au-Chocolat in Southern Cal -- meets Beach Boys & Kid Cudi, then conches the surf to froth up flavors of chocolate.
Slide on / ride on....
Slide on / ride on....
Appearance 4.9 / 5
| Color: |
Sambirano Valley: darkness past the edge of town Montserrat Hills: nearly porphyry |
| Surface: | exemplary |
| Temper: | narcissistic |
| Snap: | growlers |
Aroma 8 / 10
Sambirano Valley
ol' skool / olde worlde... tannic cocoa, leather, wisp of tea, & caramel
Montserrat Hills
more tannic roar but accompanied by nuts skins, a li'l spittle of putrid lactic acid, & big tobacco
ol' skool / olde worlde... tannic cocoa, leather, wisp of tea, & caramel
Montserrat Hills
more tannic roar but accompanied by nuts skins, a li'l spittle of putrid lactic acid, & big tobacco
Mouthfeel 12.1 / 15
| Texture: | some trumped up resistance |
| Melt: | patience please |
Flavor 44.3 / 50
Sambirano Valley
lightly smoked entrails of cocoa / berry-cola -> rear ham-bone action sticks it forward on the melt -> runs up against citrus spritz -> roasted chocolate-dipped raspberry -> filbert finish
Montserrat Hills
another fruit flush countered by the thinnest of base cocoa compounds (& then mostly of a wooded bark character bearing some bitterness) which nonetheless anchors those top notes from flying right off & ripping the tongue out -> licorice toffee -> pine resin galvanizes those fore-fruits into citrus verging on passionfruit -> bitter almond afterplay
lightly smoked entrails of cocoa / berry-cola -> rear ham-bone action sticks it forward on the melt -> runs up against citrus spritz -> roasted chocolate-dipped raspberry -> filbert finish
Montserrat Hills
another fruit flush countered by the thinnest of base cocoa compounds (& then mostly of a wooded bark character bearing some bitterness) which nonetheless anchors those top notes from flying right off & ripping the tongue out -> licorice toffee -> pine resin galvanizes those fore-fruits into citrus verging on passionfruit -> bitter almond afterplay
Quality 17.7 / 20
Sambirano Valley
70% cacáo-content; Madagascar
Resolves quite true to the origin. Up until then... an outlier that fools of (much) better PNG, the smoke rising throughout before doused by citrus in the latter stages.
Montserrat Hills
80% cacáo-content; Trinidad
From the fabled territory known for its "chocolate soils".
Quite volatile for an 80%. The acids intact with sweeter disposition than just 20% sugaring would lead on. Still, another 5% or so of the cane would explode this into a rapturous fruit-bomb.
The combined formulation & processing balances the profile right at the fulcrum of peak acidity without any astringency.
A clean run.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar
Reviewed February 24, 2017
70% cacáo-content; Madagascar
Resolves quite true to the origin. Up until then... an outlier that fools of (much) better PNG, the smoke rising throughout before doused by citrus in the latter stages.
Montserrat Hills
80% cacáo-content; Trinidad
From the fabled territory known for its "chocolate soils".
Quite volatile for an 80%. The acids intact with sweeter disposition than just 20% sugaring would lead on. Still, another 5% or so of the cane would explode this into a rapturous fruit-bomb.
The combined formulation & processing balances the profile right at the fulcrum of peak acidity without any astringency.
A clean run.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar
Reviewed February 24, 2017