Impact
Extra fine valentine from, let’s hope, the namesake city in upriver Ecuador rather than the bishop himself (1st one in the Americas). Lots of peeking & some revealing pops in a dreamy hedonism of a tropicale carnival with fruit floats passing thru... lapping, lifting, & falling in eurhythmic waves.
Rhythm (Tamara de Lempicka, 1924)
Appearance 4.4 / 5
| Color: | darkest brown |
| Surface: | serious |
| Temper: | polished |
| Snap: | snarls - but aroma/flavor allay all fear... |
Aroma 8 / 10
jasmine-rose cream flower / pound cake -> soft cocoa -> hay
Mouthfeel 13.1 / 15
| Texture: | flesh & blood much sweeter than wine |
| Melt: | takes its time |
Flavor 45.8 / 50
chocolate thunder over grass -> orange blossom -> petals -> sweet airy black fruit (cherry, black & blues [berry / plum / grape]) keep gaining strength & sweetness even over a brief, quiet pineapple acid wash -> closes long & languid on lavender almond
Quality 18.9 / 20
Forget craft, this is art work: architecture deceptive, opening & closing on actively powered cacáo brackets, otherwise invisibly framing the inside subject matter - a drop of acid here, practically no bitter there, until the finish. Surefire loveliness; sensuous beach bather sans salt capturing so much sun & converting it over to sugar-water flavored with fruit-essence that Snapple would kill to buy the patent.