Impact
Streamline refined for high F3 (focused flavor factor). Goes to the edge of candyland while still remaining in the realm of cacáo with a water hose of chocolate to the mouth that blows & explodes the cheeks up bigger than Dizzy Gillespie’s. A bit of a departure, perhaps even a prophetic sea-change, for the label. Now that the old man has retired, it may signal the next generation is getting set to make a new mark.
Appearance 3.6 / 5
| Color: | flat opaque brown; grim, almost brindle |
| Surface: | |
| Temper: | semi-dull |
| Snap: | soft & low |
Aroma 7.8 / 10
sharp & pungent: tall wood & snapping coffee dominate above a green theme (green stalk, green olive, green dirt) -> hay covering over chocolate
Mouthfeel 14.3 / 15
| Texture: | clean cream |
| Melt: | classic melter, very even paced |
Flavor 46.3 / 50
chocolate-red charges right out of the gate (strawberry monster thunders across the pal) -> catches razor-sharp, medicinal edge (cherry cough syrup) -> lays the lumber down under (shades of Corallo-roasting) w/ coffee for added depth, giving off construction papercuts -> petrol-roast fumes-in tandem w/ parallel brown, almost caramelized, sugar rush (clear effect of cane / vanilla content) + licorice (w/ the earlier reds) for a twizzler FX, & together snap into alignment to bank like this... steady... unbroken chain... of on-point chocolate bangs... stretches & lengthens out over a long straightaway to re-align the contour -> curls back into a wood-burning oven on toasted cacáo bean w/ skins attached – plain, simple, & pure peak of the experience -> leather & darker licorice -> barely detectable poppy seed -> cherry / strawberry back again under the guise of banana / jackfruit ala monstera deliciosa -> cuts out on plump chocolate-covered raisin; hazelnut after-length
Quality 18 / 20
Cluizel changed plantations on São Tomé, citing business reasons. According to aroma there’s very little difference. If anything, Vila Gracinda is even more aggressive than the discontinued Tamarina, hence the sugar boost & slightly less cacáo content. But based on taste, there’s a world of difference. Claiming to be 100% sun-dried, the beans must’ve been laid on the side of the road. Either that or toasted in a gas powered roaster (some petrol absorbed by butter fat molecules). Indeed, the balance of the flavor profile hinges on the roast - ala the mad-genius experimenter 1 island over on Principe, Claudio Corallo, making his way to São Tomé. Also creeping in, the confectionary side of Cluizel – at almost unprecedented levels – the sum total nearly candied which means ‘crowd-getter’ on the cusp of greatness. CBS ~5:8:6