Wanders
Impact
No magic wanderings in this box, just a peripatetic name & wispy logo - checking into the ‘W’ Hotel for Willie Wonka's sticky wet dream as directed by Wim Wenders - betray heavy-handed flavoring.
Presentation 4.2 / 5
formal brown-tie, incl carefully polished bio pix + layout (think Kraftwerk x Depeche Mode)
Aromas 5 / 5
each piece a scent-strip w/ specific contour to its shape
Textures/Melt 6.1 / 10
| Shells: | medium gauge |
| Centers: | varies from smooth & yielding to fractured & tough |
Flavor 32.8 / 50
generally obvious & way past forward (falling over itself) w/ imbalances; lineup runs very Germanic (Zotter in a bonbon) then shifts over to John&Kira's, reflecting a ‘he say-she say’ / his ‘n her line from this husband / wife tag-team (his very firm & masculine; hers less so)
Quality 20.9 / 30
Longer term work-in-progress
Selections
| Couverture: | Valrhona; Cacao Barry |
Earl Grey – soap-turned-citric twang (Valrhona base), then full-on lavender that loses the choc early; hold its herb until long after the finish when tea peeks thru
Rhubarb Caramel – rue barbed raspberry rolls up into an ever-stiffer caramel
Raspberry – near miss; promising conjurer; raspberry trades lines w/ lemon to produce brassy over-effects, pistachio-cum-peanut quells it down; components slightly out-of-ratio; otherwise a beguiling confluence
Port – height of the collection; lots of texture & big deep, ultimately dark tone; perfect pairing, calibration, & dexterity in action between elements
Pistachio Almond – clumpy marzipan paste
Rhubarb Caramel – rue barbed raspberry rolls up into an ever-stiffer caramel
Raspberry – near miss; promising conjurer; raspberry trades lines w/ lemon to produce brassy over-effects, pistachio-cum-peanut quells it down; components slightly out-of-ratio; otherwise a beguiling confluence
Port – height of the collection; lots of texture & big deep, ultimately dark tone; perfect pairing, calibration, & dexterity in action between elements
Pistachio Almond – clumpy marzipan paste