Michel Chaudun
Impact
Chaudun often receives recognition, only to then get lost among the titans of French chocolate, reverting back to a bit of an underground hero attracting a cult following because this is exactly the kind of gravitas - with that seriously exclusive cachet & extra layer of ‘wow’ - to earn respect bordering the devotional. Makes a statement & will get your lover jumping all over you with porn sex.
Presentation 4.4 / 5
understated, w/ a heft of manly elegance
Aromas 4.7 / 5
chocolate first & foremost
Textures/Melt 8.6 / 10
| Shells: | generally thin |
| Centers: | 1:1 to 1.5:1 ratios |
Flavor 47.3 / 50
occasionally venturesome, but for the most part plays it classically straight down-the-line... & trill – true & real.
Quality 28.7 / 30
High – among the elite class; inestimable.
Selections
| Couverture: | various |
FILLED-CHOCOLATE
Merida, Paté de truffe a la fleur d’orange – characteristic heavy cocoa punctuated w/ dark citrus
Maragnan, Paté de truffe au citron – slightly less ponderous version of the Merida due to a lemon light shine-thru
Eponymously named piece in pearl necklace design – true cacao spirited by tracer notes of almond-cashew
Para, Paté de truffe au miel – excellent kindling of roasted cocoa & warm honey
Sarawak, Paté de truffe aux poivres – too subtle to taste let alone feel except for a faint pulse fire-starter at the back
San Yago, Paté de truffe basilic – basil almost bergamot; most sweetly astute rendering in the set
Rio Chico, Paté de truffe a l’orange – cheeky chic fodder for the glory hole
BARS
Dark Bar – the Criollo of Chaudun; swarthy Dark & handsome w/ a cache of raisin-wine, peat & wood; a great work
Milk Chocolat – caramel right from the inhale; toffee-nibbed butter-scotched sensation; rarefied for a Milk
Dark Bar marked w/ Green Dot – praline-studded against a starless black-drop
Dark Bar marked w/ Orange Dot – for candied-orange twist; a womanizing teaser
Dark Bar marked w/ Red Dot – café scent; soft quiet nibs under a bed of woodland herbs
LIQUID CHOCOLATE
Kohl-colored; finely pulverized powder re-forms into thick chocolate mass; possible to catch the filbert aroma the next room over; extremely bitter & astringent; basically baking chocolate tableaux, blank slate set for additives; call it ‘burnt raw’
Merida, Paté de truffe a la fleur d’orange – characteristic heavy cocoa punctuated w/ dark citrus
Maragnan, Paté de truffe au citron – slightly less ponderous version of the Merida due to a lemon light shine-thru
Eponymously named piece in pearl necklace design – true cacao spirited by tracer notes of almond-cashew
Para, Paté de truffe au miel – excellent kindling of roasted cocoa & warm honey
Sarawak, Paté de truffe aux poivres – too subtle to taste let alone feel except for a faint pulse fire-starter at the back
San Yago, Paté de truffe basilic – basil almost bergamot; most sweetly astute rendering in the set
Rio Chico, Paté de truffe a l’orange – cheeky chic fodder for the glory hole
BARS
Dark Bar – the Criollo of Chaudun; swarthy Dark & handsome w/ a cache of raisin-wine, peat & wood; a great work
Milk Chocolat – caramel right from the inhale; toffee-nibbed butter-scotched sensation; rarefied for a Milk
Dark Bar marked w/ Green Dot – praline-studded against a starless black-drop
Dark Bar marked w/ Orange Dot – for candied-orange twist; a womanizing teaser
Dark Bar marked w/ Red Dot – café scent; soft quiet nibs under a bed of woodland herbs
LIQUID CHOCOLATE
Kohl-colored; finely pulverized powder re-forms into thick chocolate mass; possible to catch the filbert aroma the next room over; extremely bitter & astringent; basically baking chocolate tableaux, blank slate set for additives; call it ‘burnt raw’