Willie’s Cacao – Venezuelan Gold – Las Trincheras 72% (4 Stars)
Today we go back to the real Willie Wonka of the Artisan Bean-to-Bar scene – Willie Harcourt-Cooze creates his magic with odd, vintage machines and has the wonderful madness of a truly passionate chocolate maker in his eyes. In his ongoing mission to learn the Brits – and the rest of the world while he’s at it – how proper chocolate tastes, he creates bars with cacao from so many wonderful cacao regions.
Today we have a Venezuelan cacao bar – Las Trincheras. Venezuela is home to many of the most renowned cacao terroirs and can deliver the highest quality of cacao. Willie selected Trinitario cacao from a single estate, Hacienda Las Trincheras to create this bar. Intriguing enough, I will be able to compare it to the smooth Trincheras bar made by Rószavölgyi I reviewed before.
As always, Willie offers his bars in neat rectangular pieces, inside a wonderful little box – almost looking like a jewelery case. Inside, the same golden foil protecting the chocolate.
On the back, a little more info is given on the cacao origin and tasting notes – rich, nutty and smooth.
Bean: Trinitario
Origin: Las Trincheras – Venezuela
Production: Willies’s Cacao Ltd – Uffculme – UK
Price paid: € 3,5 – 50g
Color: A nice deep brown with just a smidge of purple… always a good sign
Aroma: Chocolaty, brown sugar, toast and a bit of wood
Taste: the bar opens slowly with a smoked touch followed by a whiff of toasted hazelnuts. Subtle yet clear sweetness arises before a very gentle yellow fruit profile builds. Yellow raisin comes to mind. Underneath a bit more power is generated by a very moderate espresso tone. Finally, the chocolate melts with another burst of subtle fruits, a little more pungent this time. The aftertaste is very chocolaty in nature and keeps lingering around in the mouth for quiet a while. All in all, this bar offers a very smooth and satisfying chocolate without brisk flavor changes. And it is perfectly in line with the Rószavölgyi bar, which offered just a little more spices.
It is simply a great piece of chocolate! To be enjoyed to the fullest! You should follow Kris and his Bean to Bar blog!
Peace and chocolate,
Annmarie
The post Willie’s Cacao – Las Trincheras 72% by Kris Kellens appeared first on Annmarie Kostyk.
