Michel Cluizel Plantation La Laguna 70%
Michel Cluizel - Plantation La Laguna - Dark Chocolate - 70%
Cacao origin/type:
Local cacao variety
Ingredients:
Cacao beans, cane sugar, pure cacao butter, bourbon vanilla
Other facts:
Made in France (Michel Cluizel, Damville, Normandy), BMEL seal for organic farming
The Single Origin series is packaged in colorful cardboard boxes, for each release a different color. On it a map of the country of origin, the bar in your standard aluminum foil. Maybe not high end stuff, but solid and respectable for a brand you can find in better super markets in France. Especially great as seen here and unfortunately rather rare in the upper range: there are sample packs with all varieties in them. These are also nicely packaged and include 2 small flyers with the most important info on the different origins, very nicely done.
Divided (concerning the large bars) into wide rectangular chambers, with the large company logo in the upper area and a bean embossing on the individual chambers.
A nice, matte maroon in this case, just a little red tint. Breaks medium hard, precise and straight with minimal pores in the cross section.
Aroma:
The aroma is rather subtle, plum, some dried apple chips, light earthy cocoa and some caramel
Taste:
At the start lightly roasted cocoa beans, nutty-woody but always discreet and creamy. Caramel / toffee is clearly noticeable, vanilla, very subtle lemon zest, then some plum, later only in the second half also some gentle cherry
Finish:
In the finish then again fine roasted flavors with some woods and walnut, creamy, mild, maybe the sweetest of the Cluizel I had so far, medium length
Comment:
Extremely finely balanced, but maybe already no longer exciting for people who want to find the wide and more niche spectrum of high-quality chocolate. But still, very tasty and elegant, you can taste the high quality production behind it.
