![](https://www.c-spot.com/images/santander-esp-large.jpg)
Impact
Appearance 3.7 / 5
Color: | forest brown ‘n black + a drop of orange cast |
Surface: | poker-face; battle-scarred back |
Temper: | semi-gloss; other half semi-rough |
Snap: | quiet stealth; coarse edge |
Aroma 8.6 / 10
hotly alive: cup o’ Joe & puffs of marshmallow against cocoa; shadowy herbal melissa -> tops off vanilla
Mouthfeel 11.9 / 15
Texture: | fractured; slight grit |
Melt: | layered separation & distribution |
Flavor 46.3 / 50
cocoa / coffee duke it out; marshmallow cloud hovers in backdrop; upper hand to café -> dives sharply into vanilla (which orchestrates so much profile) -> floral pack: 1st blush white cymes then reddens considerably around geraniums & hibiscus -> breathtaking rosewood adds heft & depth, modulated, again, by vanilla incl brief appearance by a vesicle of sarsaparilla -> coffee comes back up hazelnuts -> finishes astonishing mocha-honey syrup as cocoa, primarily a recessive trait, makes influence known, a magnetic presence felt long in the after-length w/ high-altitude Huíla espresso
Quality 19 / 20
Incredible breadth & depth. Being Colombian, Santander knows coffee & chocolate well, & apparently vanilla too - a key driver behind the flavors. Balance so true to components: bitters sit just over the horizon while butter moonshadows the acids into a lunar rainbow for harmonic convergence / A-1 tilt of the titans.
Valrhona’s Café Noir may be Tiffany class but this is the genuine article with on-the-ground dateline integrity as they say in journalism, direct from the source.
Valrhona’s Café Noir may be Tiffany class but this is the genuine article with on-the-ground dateline integrity as they say in journalism, direct from the source.