At first the aroma seems quite straightforward: a warm cup of milky cocoa. But you wonder if this is just the power of suggestion, that you expect a more milk chocolate scent and taste in a criollo bar. Indeed, this is a much more playful bar. Looking more closely, rather than having to actively detect a series of complex tastes under that overarching milk chocolate scent, each bite revealed a new taste growing from tobacco to Port to a strong climax of toasted almonds. Absent, however, are any citrus or plant notes. Until the bite is all but gone and you’re left with a lingering apple essence.

Though perhaps this bar didn’t live up to all the expectations placed on it as Valrhona sought a replacement to its Chuao, it is another to certainly be placed in the category of bars to interest those who are perhaps wary of high cocoa butter bars and need the gentler tones of criollo to persuade them to come over to the dark side.

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The bite is somewhat weak, sort of falling apart on the teeth, though put differently, you could think of it as merely delicate. The sweet scent of cherries mingles with a hint of bark, which I almost interpret as licorice, followed by an afterwhiff of hazelnut. This is a sweeter bar with a huge offering of fruit. An undertaste of something I initially wanted to call perfume but thought better of as a grain spirit gives way to a cherry finish, bringing the experience full-circle from an initial cherry scent to a final cherry flavor. The mixture of fruit and spirit, while tempting, isn’t complex enough to conquer the overly sweet taste and create a bar with enough interest for me.

But perhaps what I love most is that this is a great gift chocolate. From the sexy packaging to the designer M-A-R-C-O-L-I-N-I engraved across the individual squares, this is an aesthetically appealing bar that makes you happy someone loved you enough to buy you something so beautiful.

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A deep dark, almost purple color evidences a deep “”thud”" snap and fudge-like texture with an easy, slow melt it – all due to the higher (75%) cocoa butter content. Those deep and heavy qualities are carried through to the aromas of dried cherries and tobacco. In taste, however, this bar deviates from these first impressions, which give way to a serious lime tang when you bite into this chocolate. True to the terroir, that lime is almost a bergamot, which some might mistake for a subtly burnt undertone. At the finish a burnt flavor does emerge, though less like over-caramelized sugar and more like a rich but acidic balsamic.

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The scent is richly raisins with the faintest waft of two distinctly oppositional aromas: leather and lemon. That citrus emerges in the taste as well, especially in the lovely spicy, lemony finish. But perhaps the most exciting thing about this chocolate is the range of tastes I detected in each bite. At times, it is richly fruity with fresh berry flavors and at others, a pungent spice shows itself on the back of the tongue, offering tastes at once earthy and sharp from allspice to nutmeg.

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First there’s the disjunction between appearance and “”mouthfeel”": a sandier coloring belies this bar’s smooth texture and thick melt. Next, comes the surprising tastes and smells. Scents of hay and artichoke anticipate the delightful green olive taste the manufacturer describes on the package – but a delightfully fresh Picholine, not a hackneyed cocktail Manzanilla. Rather than seeking other flavors in place of the olive, I simply reveled in it. Even on my fifth go-round with this bar, the initial scent was so wonderfully different from other chocolate bars that I found myself exclaiming aloud about it.

This bar is really one of my favorites for the complexity of taste and the smoothness of the texture. To appropriate the language of wine, this bar is a refreshing Viognier to the usual run of 70% Zins and Cabs. And in the whisky world it is the Island malt in a sea of Highlanders. Which is to say, if you love a challenging crisp white wine or 10-year-old Talisker, this is also the chocolate for you. I can’t say enough good things about it.

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Almonds and dates emerge in the taste, but floral undertones still keep playing on pianissimo. In the background, I continually detect a hint of lingering acid, almost like green grapes or a fine Pinot Blanc. And while it pulls ahead with a wonderful melt, it’s the herbal aftertaste that really surprises.

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