Pierre Marcolini Los Ríos

…Or to give this Pierre Marcolini bar its full title Carré² Chocolat Los Ríos Équateur Grand Cru de Propriété Hacienda Puerto Romero, a bar composed of Nacional cacao from Ecuador, cane sugar, a little lecithin, and Tahitian vanilla.

As you can see, there’s no mistaking who made the bar – it’s an elegant and bold design which lets you know that M. Marcolini is very proud to have his name embossed into every bar.

So what of the famed Nacional cacao?

Well apparently this particular cacao is grown exclusively for Marcolini to turn into chocolate in Brussels. It’s a darker, purply cacao pod which yields a more intense chocolate, and that’s exactly what it does here. The first hint of red berry and fruit is somewhat deceptive, as it very quickly turns into deep, dark coffee and treacle undertones – and I mean deep.

The treacly flavours are pushed almost to the point of excess before the cacao starts to release its other flavours – sweet, light, floral notes that dance through the darker flavours and provide a long, complex finish. It’s quite remarkable stuff and certainly something I would highly recommend to anyone with an interest in complex, intese cacao.

Marcolini is one of a handful of bean to bar makers and what he has achieved with this cacao is fairly remarkable. I tried hard to resist but the bar didn’t really stand a chance.

For fans of big, bold cacao with complex flavour, and definitely one of my top five so far this year.

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