Impact
A crater lake filled with chardonnay & rosé, situated at high-altitude over an active volcanic vent shooting up acids & cloudy green gases filtered thru plenty of buttered buoyancy to float the Chocolate Ti-tannic... that sank to the bottom of the deepest permanent memories after melting the berg; then, putting the head in a sling, nursed by sheer, resonant, unhurried majesty. No small achievement in a world that now moves at broadband speed, saturated with pseudo & hyper-reality. Its ability to recruit the senses & imagination on a lasting chocolate vacation, so when it finally ends the world outside seems unreal. The dream is over: it has come true. If this were around, Eve never would've bitten into that apple & Eden would've remained open... forevermore... with all snakes only medicine, free from poison.
Appearance 4.4 / 5
| Color: | Darth Rust-ic (ebony orange) |
| Surface: | Nosy Bé |
| Temper: | windex |
| Snap: | a killer lurking in the evil depths; sanded edge |
Aroma 8.4 / 10
deep in the nose & manifold: Nosy Bé means 'scented island' & anyone stepping right off the plane at Fascene Airport gets greeted by balmy intermingled fragrances of ylang, sugar cane, cocoa, coffee, cinnamon, & vanilla which are intensely cultivated all over the island; each seems to make it into this bar... + grass, hay, grapefruit, pineapple, litchi (vibrant chardonnay scheme) back-ended by strawberry over pain au chocolat w/ dirt & frangipani tree roots dug in the ground
Mouthfeel 14 / 15
| Texture: | massive flesh; plump, voluptuous & curvaceous |
| Melt: | engorgingly lush yards of bosom; irrigates by the finish |
Flavor 43.9 / 50
chocolate frangipani just rips it under a berry bomb combo (straw & cran) -> big butter bandit runs-off w/ a lot of flavor only to return it later -> bread 'n cream rich enough from maternal breasts -> green grapes & litchis bubble up... green pineapple & grass too -> hits dirt bottom while holding its fruit force when the bar really starts blending beautifully, a picasette mash-up integrating a parallel stack adding walnut & mint -> at the very back a sustained chocolate wave whooshes & thunders across, spinning into a cyclone of hedonism... nothing but storm-tossed chocolarity all-around straight down to the lurking depths -> dries out to a walnut brownie -> ever deeper in the well vanilla & more frangipani; minutely astringent maybe... 45 minutes later
Quality 16.3 / 20
A ferment of sparkling clarity (clouded only initially in butter) matched to a semi-cool roast by Pralus standards, then a conche that keeps it tight, well short of stripping the acids. The sum formulation avoids those acid-bath blister kit FXs of Domori's nearby Sambirano 100%, but also lacks the strength of the Italian's Puro power blend, instead composed with fruited grace notes shockingly sweet & sustained; a rare combo of crisp with weight.
Almost nothing objectionable except maybe the French contagion: butter, which cuts-off some depth & scale affecting the bottom-to-top aspect ratio, though understandable considering this bar’s unsweetened nature. On the plus side, however, it yields a resonant, unhurried pace to the melt.
Pralus owns the plantation on which this cacáo will be harvested as of 2010, using genestock from São Tomé whose lineage tracks back to Brazil & perhaps Lake Maracaibo Venezuela. If so, & awaiting judgment of course on the taste of future harvests, it could be heirloom (which would confirm rumors of Criollo groves on São Tomé) further endowed by Pralus' own intimacy & knowledge of the source material - from seed & harvest to processing - of the highest order.
Almost nothing objectionable except maybe the French contagion: butter, which cuts-off some depth & scale affecting the bottom-to-top aspect ratio, though understandable considering this bar’s unsweetened nature. On the plus side, however, it yields a resonant, unhurried pace to the melt.
Pralus owns the plantation on which this cacáo will be harvested as of 2010, using genestock from São Tomé whose lineage tracks back to Brazil & perhaps Lake Maracaibo Venezuela. If so, & awaiting judgment of course on the taste of future harvests, it could be heirloom (which would confirm rumors of Criollo groves on São Tomé) further endowed by Pralus' own intimacy & knowledge of the source material - from seed & harvest to processing - of the highest order.