Pralus – Le 100%
Pralus comes out with a masterpiece, perhaps his most accomplished chocolate of all, in an uncompromising percentage. Astonishing in its lack of bitterness it is also remarkable in being relatively gentle on the roasting relative to the Pralus norm. With this chocolate he competes squarely against the heavy hitters from Domori and Cluizel. It’s nice to have another face in the 100% class.
Reviews
Alex Rast: 23-Jul-2007
| SCORES | Score/10 | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Aroma: | 8.5 | 10% |
| Look/snap: | 8 | 5% |
| Taste: | 9.5 | 35% |
| Melt: | 9 | 5% |
| Length: | 9 | 15% |
| Opinion: | 9 | 30% |
| Total/100: | 90.75 | 100% |
| INFO | |
|---|---|
| Best before: | |
| Batch num: | |
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Pralus’ bar is surprise out of the wrapper, a decidedly darker brown than most Madagasacars, trending, if anything, to the black. The front shows the trademark Pralus immaculate finish, although there are some swirl marks on the back. Some alarm over the colour, but all fears will be put to rest shortly.
Right away, the aroma announces itself with a fruitiness almost alien to Pralus: cherry and strawberry, truly bright and fresh. Not long thereafter, however, more typical smoky and woody components come to the fore. Something elusive hovers in the background – is it cinnamon? Molasses? Balsamic? Hard to tell because it remains evanescent, although a bizarre waft of popcorn also makes a more decisive appearance. Still, it’s a mesmerising aroma even if there is some confusion.
The flavour, however, gets straight to business. Chocolatey. Pure chocolatey. It hits you right from the start with complete authority. Some nutty, perhaps chestnut components occasionally appear, and then hints of cherry wood along with cream flashes. But it’s the chocolatiness that dominates. One keeps expecting something bitter to make an unwelcome entrance, but it never arrives. Right at the end there’s a grassy hint – is this the same as that popcorn in the aroma? before the flavour finally dissipates. That chocolatiness one will never forget.
Texture is unsurprisingly superb, more or less routine in a 100% where anything less than supreme would be a disappointment. What is there to criticise? Perhaps one thing, hinted at by the texture and the ingredient list: compared to the Domoris or Cluizel at this percentage, it is just a bit mild, and could this be the result of adding cocoa butter? Surely a 100% won’t need more than the on-average 50% cocoa butter it already has. But this goes beyond quibbling into the realm of inventing things to complain about: there can be no question about it whatsoever that this is a great chocolate. One should encourage Pralus not to change things but to make sure they stay exactly as they are – as a bar that embodies the essence of chocolate.
