A chocolate mind-blowing in its complexity, rivalling chocolates such as Valrhona Guanaja and Domori Blend no 1. It’s also in the same league as them from a quality standpoint, and shows off Guittard’s mastery of chocolates in the mid-60s percentages. Amazingly, it reveals the probable origins of its blend beans while bringing them into balance – like a really clear, easily-understood cutaway or exploded diagram.
Reviews
Alex Rast: 11-Oct-2005
| SCORES | Score/10 | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Aroma: | 8 | 10% |
| Look/snap: | 9 | 5% |
| Taste: | 9 | 35% |
| Melt: | 7.5 | 5% |
| Length: | 9.5 | 15% |
| Opinion: | 9.5 | 30% |
| Total/100: | 90.5 | 100% |
| INFO | |
|---|---|
| Best before: | |
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Annoyingly, this bar comes in 2 unwieldy formats, small 10g squares or large 275g bars. It suffers from the same difficulties as Valrhona’s Manjari in this respect. Once you solve the packaging difficulties, the chocolate itself looks classic and refined – a dark red-brown, with an incredibly perfect glossy finish – so that the bar seems to shine.
Aroma is somewhat faint, with nuts prevailing, mostly walnut and almond, and then later a fruity, currant development on a woody background that is in some ways the continuation of the walnut. It’s a pleasing change from the more fruity noses of so many high-end chocolates – one might only wish that it were stronger. The mild and generally uncomplex aroma, however, gives absolutely no indication of the flavour journey that is to come.
Right away, the chocolate immediately surges forward with a powerful blueberry, which then gives way to softer strawberry and cherry cordial components – clear criollo indications. Next, a brooding molasses component darkens the scene, which then in turn exits to reveal a smooth grape and hazelnut finish. There’s a great deal going on here – almost too much to take in all at once It’s just unbelievable in its complexity.
Even more remarkably, the flavours are so characteristic it’s possible to deconstruct the probable composition of this chocolate after tasting the Guittard varietals. Almost certainly, it’s a blend of Madagascar, Sur del Lago, and Ecuador Nacional. Somehow Guittard has managed to retain the distinctive characteristics of each varietal without one overwhelming the other or clashing. It’s like an opera where each lead singer is given his moment to shine. Here is a bar you will want to try many times, and probably find something new in it every time.
