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Valrhona ~ El Pedregal 64%

 

 

 

** Archived Notes

This is my first time with Valrhona's vintage plantation series. I took these notes a while ago, but wanted to get them posted anyway.

El Pedregal is a vintage single estate cacao plantation in Venezuela with rare Criollo and Porcelana beans being cultivated and revived.

Via their website:

In order to further progress with our knowledge of the cocoa, Valrhona bought its first plantation El Pedregal in Venezuela 20 years ago, followed more recently in 2011 by Loma Sotavento in the Dominican Republic. For Valrhona, these company-owned plantations are living laboratories for research and exploration on several levels; they contribute to significant progress in certain crucial stages of the development of aromatic characteristics, such as fermentation and drying.

They help us in our experiments into responsible and sustainable farming. Valrhona works together with local experts to convert plantations into natural botanic gardens that create a new balance between the flora and its ecosystem.

El Pedregal plantation has enabled us to develop a vintage estate grown chocolate, with unrivaled delicacy: Porcelana El Pedregal (available November 2011)

Just like a fine vintage wine, the estate grown chocolates are the fruit of the yearly harvest of a single plantation, and the passion of a cocoa farmer. Each vintage thus offers you the opportunity to discover new facets of its personality. Valrhona also invites you to taste these vintage chocolates with unique and outstanding aromatic characteristics, Palmira from Venezuela, Gran Couva from Trinidad and Ampamakia from Madagascar.

Three years ago, an ambitious and highly innovative project was founded in Venezuela, called the Cambios project. It focuses on the principles of sustainable, quality cocoa farming, respectful both of the environment and people, focused on the preservation of a dying variety, Porcelana. It involves, among other things, the creation of biodiversity corridors within the plantation itself, up keeping the cocoa plantations in the manner of forests, and planting other crops so that the local population has another income and training.

 

El Pedregal 64%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: Criollo, Porcelana

Ingredients: Cacao beans, brown sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, vanilla.

Sample Size: 75g or 2.6oz

Lot #: LP7511245

 

Appearance: Ignore the scratch mark on one of the tablets. I scratched it by accident opening out of it's foil wrapper but there was some long line surface marks I didn't cause. Long tablet with wide, fat tablets, monogrammed molding, shiny surface, medium dark brown color, not too dark, superficial fill lines on the back surface.

Score: 89

Snap: Good clean snap with nice crisp snap sound. Firm with clean break lines.

Score: 93

Aroma: Slightly floral out of the package, roasted with a slight char aroma, savory, inky, cocoa-y.

Score: 91

Taste: Sweet, slight spicy note, very delicate flavor at first, brown sugar molasses, inky, bready, cereal grains, slight hints of leather, dried fruits and tiny bit of resin or rubber from retro-olfaction. Clean finish. Very complex.

Score: 93

Texture: Hard at first, opens up with a medium-slow melt time, creamy texture but also a bit drying.

Score: 90

 

Very interesting chocolate. Delicate and simple aroma. Nothing too crazy going on there but a deeply complex flavor albeit not as strong as I would have liked. It opens up really soft and sweet. Very soft and almost boring. At first I thought this would be incredibly weak chocolate. But then it opens up a bit more and some deeper flavors come through. The brown sugar's molasses does interfere a bit. It wasn't overwhelming but definitely noticeable. Bready and yeasty with cereal grains, pen ink and dried fruits.

It's almost like this cacao wants to be bigger. But you can't drag out the flavors with more sugars or brown sugars. Sugars tend to bring out more fruits, but these beans apparently are so soft that the sugars ended up interfering with with it. There is a boldness to this chocolate and a deep richness. But also layered with soft floral notes and subtle inky flavors.

I don't know what to make of it honestly. I appreciate it for it's softness and hidden aggressiveness. But I doubt it would be this rich without the sugars. It tastes great, but in my honest opinion it's fairly boring and some of the flavors feel forced. The emphasis on these rare beans is very important. Criollo is the true original cacao bean. But I tend to like more richer, and bolder flavors. I want to be kicked in the face with raw flavors. Not so raw like Taza flavors, but a bit more bold than this. 

This will sound very rude but I am going to be completely honest and say that this is over hyped chocolate. Sold for it's rarity and labeling of Procelana beans but there really isn't anything too spectacular about this. Perhaps it's different right after it's been molded and packaged and eaten when it's no older than one month. But for now, as cool as this single estate chocolate is, it's just not all that for what it's supposed to be.

Having said that, this could be good for people with sensitive palates. But again it's true nature is clouded a bit with the brown sugars and the molasses in it.

And just for fun, I just found out that Valrhona has taken the time to do some beer pairings with their chocolate and not just wine. Craft beer is often better paired with chocolate than wine. Especially with the American craft beer scene with the amount of new styles. They had different flavor profiles in their tasting but I agree with the recommendations.

EL PEDREGAL Dark Chocolate 64% (Venezuela) - This chocolate has soft, earthy flavors of mocha and coffee bean that are complex, yet mellow, with a dusty texture and slight bitterness on the palate. For a taste to complement these characteristics of the chocolate, an Irish Stout would offer texture and rich, hearty, aromatics without overwhelming the palate. The slight bitterness of the chocolate would match with an Extra Special Bitter which, despite the name is mildly aggressive, but not overpowering and will balance with the taste of the chocolate.

FInal Score: 91.2

   score
  B+

Rabot Estate ~ Chuao 70%

 

 

I think I owe Angus Thirlwell an apology. When I originally wrote about Rabot Estate, I am ashamed to admit I let others influences cloud my judgement about their products. Others with opinions I respect greatly, but whom do not share the same palate as me. Whatever their dealings are and/or snobbery's are, I shouldn't have let that impact my point of view in such a way. I am afraid I wrote with a bias and an attitude about their company before ever having spoken with Angus. And I was partially caught up in the lack of understanding about the Chuao region and what is happening to the region itself vs. the famed Chuao farm where the most prized beans come from. I will stand by the previous reviews by taste, but I didn't give nearly enough credit or time to Rabot Estate. This is what my site is all about. Learning, growing, and possibly having to amend myself.

I met with Angus a few weeks ago while he was briefly in town. I demanded his time and took him to my favorite bar for some beers and chocolate talk. Not only is Angus the nicest man on the planet, but he was deeply knowledgeable, warm, and patient with my lack of understanding on various topics with chocolate growing and genetics. I could have easily talked chocolate all night. Sadly he had a plane to catch to NY. It's not every day chocolate lovers with a deep passion like this get to meet and sit and chat. He taught me a lot in our brief meeting and I owe him a bit of gratitude and respect for my previous reviews. I look forward to getting back to London one day and meeting with him again to talk chocolate.

Thank you for meeting with me that day Mr. Thirlwell. Your generosity and knowledge really made for a fantastic meeting. I will look forward to meeting with you again and hopefully traveling to St. Lucia for further explorations into chocolate.

 

Rabot Estate is a small cacao plantation in St. Lucia that has been revived and restored back to production by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris.

Via their website:

Our Story

The Rabot Estate is Saint Lucia’s oldest cocoa estate, and was first established as an agricultural estate around 1745.

It was bought 5 years ago by two UK based entrepreneurs, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, the original founders of Hotel Chocolat . At that stage cacao growing on Saint Lucia was on its knees; no future, no investment, no pride and no quality.

Angus grew up in the Caribbean and always wanted to connect chocolate and cacao. A customer sent him an old book published in 1920 about cacao growing, which he read while he was visiting his father who lives in Barbados. This was a moment of serendipity which inspired him to get into cacao growing. Peter always wanted to have a farm, so although he is a Chartered Accountant and naturally quite cautious, he was game on too!

Since then, Angus and Peter have invested heavily, re-planting thousands of new cacao trees, raising the quality of the fermentation to get a fantastic quality bean and putting together a team of local talent led by Phil Buckley – a resourceful cacao tree hugging eco-engineer. His wife Judy is an expert on team building and quality control. They have reached out to the other cacao growers on the island to stimulate a Cocoa Renaissance as part of their Engaged Ethics programme.

There are now 80 growers who have formally joined the scheme.

They get a commitment
- all the beans they grow will be bought, giving a secure and guaranteed market
- they will be paid about 30% above world cocoa prices
- will be paid 1 week after delivery
- free technical help
- subsidised cocoa tree seedlings to plant out

Now there is a thriving cocoa growing sector and an estimated 300 new jobs have been created amongst these growers. Sustainable benefits brought about by making investments of time, money and passion.

 

Generally Rabot Estate is about the cacao grown on the island. But this is a Venezuelan bar using the famed Chuao beans from the famed Chuao Hacienda. It is my understanding that they have expanded the region of Chuao past this small farm and into a much larger region. The beans are blends and hybrids and can be very different than what is grown and cultivated on the small estate in Venezuela. Now anyone can call their bars Chuao but it's not necessarily from the specific farm where the beans have been genetically tested as Criollo or similarly close genetic varieties. I am not an expert on how to taste or spot those differences. However, there is a lack of transparency with producers these days about what kind of cacao is being used. This is where my frustrations began with Hotel Chocolat because I was under the impression that they were another company just using buzz words to sell more chocolate. I was wrong about that.

It's easy to be confused these days however. The rules of cacao are changing daily, each chocolate maker I talk to has a very different set of rules and understanding about regions and definitions. Expanding the region really changes a lot for fans of Chuao. And not mentioning it on packaging really makes it difficult to know what is going on with the chocolate.

Consider it like beer. The water where the beer is brewed has a direct impact on it's flavor. Although water can be treated and is often treated, it impacts the beer. The different kinds of hops definitely has an impact on flavor. Malts and grains too. You can test this with Budweiser brewed around the world. In the US, it's ultra controlled and tastes the same everywhere you buy it. But it's different in China, London, and Russia. That's because the factories have different waters and different grain sources. The recipes are the same and they do a lot scientifically to make it taste generally the same, but these factors do change it. Chocolate is the same when it comes to it's beans, terroir, and genetics. I am not even close to understanding taste variances with genetic varieties. Mostly because there is too much going on. 10 new genetic varieties from Forastero were identified in 2008, and there is still unknown hybrids and new discoveries being made all the time.

Not every person buying chocolate needs to know these kinds of specifics. But I don't see why mentions of these beans can't be made on packaging about what kind of chocolate it is. Or designing websites to further explain like Taza Chocolate's website.

This cacao was obtained from the famed hacienda in Chuao. It is labeled as Criollo, but I think it's safe to say it's a Criollo hybrid and not true Criollo. Most of what is consumed is a form of a hybrid. But the quality is still incredible which is why these beans are prized. I am sure I am missing a lot more detail here, but I think you get the drift.

 

Rabot Estate Chuao Venezuela 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Criollo

Ingredients: Cocoa solids, sugar, soya lecithin.

Sample Size: 35g or 1.2oz

Lot #: 12166

 

Appearance: Flat, unlined tablet, monogrammed, Slight waviness on the top surface with fill lines and particles on the back surface. Deep dark brown color, shiny, but with a matted molded surface.

Score: 90

Snap: Big hard snap. Nice and loud, very firm and crisp snap with clean break lines.

Score: 96

Aroma: Coconuts, smoky, sugary, slightly acidic, fudgy, dried fruits, deep inky aromas, malty and slight cereal grains (as described on the package, but only upfront right out of the package and didn't hang on for long).

Score: 92

Taste: Raisins, slight whiskey tastes up front but very faint, complex flowery note up front, sugary, slightly bitter up front but not acidic or astringent, cereal grains, and pen ink. Raisin-y lingering after taste.

Score: 92

Texture: A little hard at first, medium-slow melt time, smooth, a little chewy.

Score: 91

Just a little bit of some surface issues. This happens with loosely packaged bars of chocolate. Still, not a lot of surface blemishes. No molding lines, just a straight monogrammed tablet. Fantastic snap.

Nice full aroma too. Coconuts and smoke right out of the package, and then it becomes very fudgy and cocoa-y.

Very nice taste. Raisins and dried fruits right up front. An interesting tiny hint of whiskey on the first taste. It's so small and nearly undetectable though. A lovely soft floral taste in the beginning and some bitterness. No astringency or acidity. Cereal grains and ink flavors. But it was really sugary. Very sweet. I find sugars tend to bring out great fruit flavors in chocolate and it helps round out some of the bitterness. This probably didn't need to be that sweet though. However, it's not overbearing. Just a tiny bit cloying. I can see nibbling this bar with a hot cup of coffee in the morning. A very decadent way to start out your morning, but still, like beer, there is a time and a place for every chocolate.

 

Final Score: 92.2

   score
  B+