Impact
Been awhile since taking stock of Bernachon, on this the 60th anniversary of its founding.
In that time the barsmith has stayed a pretty predictable course guided by an indomitable inner heart..."the only eye that can perceive the invisible" wrote Saint Exupery… because what a chocolate ends up can be quite inapparent from its beginning cacáo seeds, thus rewarding the ability to project.
In that time the barsmith has stayed a pretty predictable course guided by an indomitable inner heart..."the only eye that can perceive the invisible" wrote Saint Exupery… because what a chocolate ends up can be quite inapparent from its beginning cacáo seeds, thus rewarding the ability to project.
Appearance 4.1 / 5
| Color: | purpled majesties (Pâté de Cacao 100%); burnt orange blush (Chuao) |
| Surface: | where the hell's the vibrator, please…. sub-bubbling going on |
| Temper: | -tantrum |
| Snap: | thunderous |
Aroma 7.2 / 10
Pâté de Cacao 100%
massive Earthen ware... leatherback turtle inhabiting a berm structure -> slightly soured chocolate
Chuao
The return of the VOG (Vanilla Oak Giant) with huge trunk & deep roots
massive Earthen ware... leatherback turtle inhabiting a berm structure -> slightly soured chocolate
Chuao
The return of the VOG (Vanilla Oak Giant) with huge trunk & deep roots
Mouthfeel 13.5 / 15
| Texture: | swollen round |
| Melt: | looooooonnnnngg |
Flavor 43.2 / 50
Pâté de Cacao 100%
chocolate glimpse -> hits the mushroom patch (woods ear, chanterelle, enoki, cremini) -> small sweet cream spot -> sour edge emerges -> reverts back down into the subterranean vaults (soil, roots, rhizome, insects, clay)
Chuao
chocolate-vanilla -> light caramel -> from the recesses some sweet volatiles come fore (Chuao's fabled blueberry) still hanging on its twig branch -> cocoa char immolates an orange blossom
chocolate glimpse -> hits the mushroom patch (woods ear, chanterelle, enoki, cremini) -> small sweet cream spot -> sour edge emerges -> reverts back down into the subterranean vaults (soil, roots, rhizome, insects, clay)
Chuao
chocolate-vanilla -> light caramel -> from the recesses some sweet volatiles come fore (Chuao's fabled blueberry) still hanging on its twig branch -> cocoa char immolates an orange blossom
Quality 15.9 / 20
Pâté de Cacao 100%
Pâté indeed. Fairly controlled for a 100% (add'l cocoa butter helps in this regard) with just enough primordial underpinnings to remind the clapper of its unsweetened nature.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vanilla, lecithin
Chuao
Terrific middle stanza; while the opening & closing brackets dominated by vanilla-roast. Thus a generally inexpressive Chuao -- some of that on account of the low percentage cacáo-content (officially listed at 55% but Bernachon only factors cocoa mass into that calculus & never the added cocoa butter), the rest due to the vanilla inclusion hampering the chocolate.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, lecithin
Capsule Summary
If Bonnat & Morin, as well as to a lesser degree Valrhona, represent the Grandfathers & Grand Dame respectively of the French artisanal chocolate scene, then Bernachon along with Pralus & Cluizel are the primogenitors. These 2 bars show the house continues to hone its traditional ways, eschewing innovation for the most part, in favor of the tried & true. All good… by & large.
Reviewed September 30, 2015
Pâté indeed. Fairly controlled for a 100% (add'l cocoa butter helps in this regard) with just enough primordial underpinnings to remind the clapper of its unsweetened nature.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vanilla, lecithin
Chuao
Terrific middle stanza; while the opening & closing brackets dominated by vanilla-roast. Thus a generally inexpressive Chuao -- some of that on account of the low percentage cacáo-content (officially listed at 55% but Bernachon only factors cocoa mass into that calculus & never the added cocoa butter), the rest due to the vanilla inclusion hampering the chocolate.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, lecithin
Capsule Summary
If Bonnat & Morin, as well as to a lesser degree Valrhona, represent the Grandfathers & Grand Dame respectively of the French artisanal chocolate scene, then Bernachon along with Pralus & Cluizel are the primogenitors. These 2 bars show the house continues to hone its traditional ways, eschewing innovation for the most part, in favor of the tried & true. All good… by & large.
Reviewed September 30, 2015