Bar Review- La Maison du Chocolat Pariguan

   I’m lucky enough to have a partner in life who knows what I like to get as presents.  This latest gift was from a chocolatier who moved near her work, La Maison du Chocolat.  I have always been under the impression that La Maison, and its chocolatier Robert Linxe, were simply re-melters who had a strategic partnership with Valrhona to supply them with chocolate made just for La Maison.  I’ve heard this from both La Maison employees as well as other chocolate experts.  I might need to refresh my knowledge-base and find out where they’re getting there new bars from.  The Pariguan (named for the plantation in Venezuela) is made from a “pre-imminent vintage” of Porcelana Criollo del pedregal.  Here goes this tasting:

Manufacturer: La Maison du Chocolat
Origin: Venezuelan (Pariguan)
Bean Varietal: Porcelana Criollo del pedregal
Cacao Solids: 69%
Cocoa Butter: Not listed
Ingredients: cocoa paste, brown sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural extract: vanilla

Packaging: 2
    La Maison has done little to get away from their stuffy and formal appearance and the packaging for these new bars are boring and tell little about the story of the chocolate.  They should include some of the info from their website directly on the packaging.

Mold: 4
    Nice, clean mold with an ever-so-slight textured surface on the design-side. A rough break, not the bright snap of a well-tempered chocolate.  Very few, small air bubbles inside.

Start: 3
    An appropriately slow start.  Bright, tin-like notes peak out from the onset.  Then a broader palette emerges in time for the melt

Melt: 5
    Everything I’d like from a bar of chocolate- bright, mineral notes surrounded by everything from hints of walnuts to elderberries.  Surprisingly bold for the subtle beginning.

Finish: 3
    An abrupt, empty finish cuts short the fuller flavor of the melt and leaves a tannic bed of emulsifier on one’s tongue.  It’s not bad, just sad, as I would like to keep the melt flavor on my palette much longer.

Total: 3.4
    Not what I’d expect from a Porcelana Criollo, but better than the previous La Maison bars I’ve had.  I would not recommend this bar to friends, but would certainly feature it if I were doing a tasting of various Criollo beans.  It is a good case study.  I will have to do some further research to see if La Maison has indeed become a full manufacturer of chocolate.  I’ll keep you posted.