Impact
Knocks the door down. Prepare to be scared, then get ready to rumble upside-down with the ‘Mr. T’ of chocolate. And just when you thought you’ve slayed this dragon, BOOM... no apologies... the bar won’t quit - & neither should you... for rewards await the survivor.
Appearance 5 / 5
| Color: | ebony brown w/ blush purple pigment |
| Surface: | fools w/ pure baby’s behind; super clean lip on the edge mold |
| Temper: | matte |
| Snap: | Tiger Woods tee-shot: whip, crack, & whoosh |
Aroma 9 / 10
dark ‘n dense... library leather & woods -> fresh tobaccocoa & apricot cut by sparkling ginger 'n orange -> roasted almond deep in the barrel; aerates olive leaf, smoked tobacco + a green raisin in the sun
Mouthfeel 14.1 / 15
| Texture: | superbly conched; no pasty reactions, just butter expertly coating the particles |
| Melt: | slow & methodical |
Flavor 46.9 / 50
avocado, olive oil & almonds spill out the gate -> baseline chocolate in potted soil spreads horizonatally -> slow developing bitterness darkens the olive black, but w/ rising acidity too... to partially neutralize it -> profile stacks into a strong iron column just on this side of survival -> beef stock & muscle in the rear decompose to tobacco leaf, then cold ash, only to mount a comeback... a deep chocolate bitter-smack -> more bitter almond follows on -> cedar bark -> dry stringent cocoa flushes into loam -> orange-apricot the far shaft / deep cut brownie & out
Quality 18.8 / 20
The 1st D.R. to break the 90% barrier (the previous threshold held by de Vries’ 84) engineers some tremendous geometry. What Pralus’ Le 100% is to the sunny sparkling side of unsweetened, this is to the dark side - albeit with 8% sugar - without which it would break off any jaw.
Another winner from Coppeneur who continues to reach new heights & lengths.
Whereas its Ecuadorian Bruts are ferocious smackdowns (Iara Pur & Iara Dunkle), this has rare tolerance & impressive CQ (Chocolate Quotient) for the 90%+ class, doubly so considering the origin (though nowhere near the sweet charm of de Bondt’s 90% - but that’s a whole other breed, thanks to at least some quasi-Nacional relic).
Nonetheless, WARNING kiddies: these guys are not kidding around. Coppeneur’s customary firm handling turns into an real advatage here, especially at this cacáo-content level. Yes, there’s that tall bitter to scale but it’s very clean (no wood used in the fermentary; just plastic; any wood notes are generated thru the root system - LOL), surrounded & escorted by butter (yielding softness & transparency) & a pH offset, plus the stability of latent chocolate on the ground floor & below, forming a towering T-jointed axis of flavor flexing awesome length as well as depth & strength.
Yet one more memo that D.R. might be home to the cream of the crop for ‘08/’09, distancing itself from the revered Venezuela.
NOTE: This review pertains to the prototype; expect even more from the official release.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter
Reviewed 5/22/09
Another winner from Coppeneur who continues to reach new heights & lengths.
Whereas its Ecuadorian Bruts are ferocious smackdowns (Iara Pur & Iara Dunkle), this has rare tolerance & impressive CQ (Chocolate Quotient) for the 90%+ class, doubly so considering the origin (though nowhere near the sweet charm of de Bondt’s 90% - but that’s a whole other breed, thanks to at least some quasi-Nacional relic).
Nonetheless, WARNING kiddies: these guys are not kidding around. Coppeneur’s customary firm handling turns into an real advatage here, especially at this cacáo-content level. Yes, there’s that tall bitter to scale but it’s very clean (no wood used in the fermentary; just plastic; any wood notes are generated thru the root system - LOL), surrounded & escorted by butter (yielding softness & transparency) & a pH offset, plus the stability of latent chocolate on the ground floor & below, forming a towering T-jointed axis of flavor flexing awesome length as well as depth & strength.
Yet one more memo that D.R. might be home to the cream of the crop for ‘08/’09, distancing itself from the revered Venezuela.
NOTE: This review pertains to the prototype; expect even more from the official release.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter
Reviewed 5/22/09