HSE Rhum Agricole Extra Vieux - Les Forêts - Chantilly

 #5114 17.02.2025 Running some samples at home. Nose Fresh, wood, Agricole, sugarcane, light tannins, fruity, vegetal, light citrus, spice. Palate Balanced, fresh, Agricole, spice, wood, light tannins, light citrus, light roasted, light nutts, light dry. Finish Medium to long, round, balanced, wood, light roasted, light tannins, fruits, dried fruit, light nutts, light dry. Empty glass Light caramel, faint coffee, wood, light dried fruit, light sugarcane. Needs to rest for a while to really open up and the tannins to settle.

 A rum tasted at Rhum Fest in 2024. A nose of old rope, fruit and wood in harmony. On the palate, old wood, caramel and vegetal. More fruit on the finish. A little salted butter caramel at the very end.

 Somehow exciting and special! Slight medicinal notes, raisins, wood.

 A real treat for the palate. HSE has never completely won me over. This one is different. Spicy and creamy, with buttery, creamy salty notes. Umami without end. Anyone who likes Nive Leaves knows it. It's not particularly extreme, the wood is subtle, for an Agricole it's downright accessible. Zero dryness. So maybe I should have tried more HSE. Or it's an atypical HSE. But that's why it's so exciting.

 Le nez nous accueille sur un boisé chaud assez puissant. Au départ assez discret, il s'affirme après quelques minutes dans le verre sur de la badiane envahissante et de la cardamome. Il y a aussi un peu de tabac genre boîte à cigare. Un second nez amène des élans acidulé d'abricots secs, mais l'ensemble est surtout épicé. La bouche est assez piquante et vive, sur le piment, beaucoup de boisé. L'anis est aussi présent qu'au nez et ce n'est pas mon truc. Ce rhum manque de complexité et il y a une forte amertume qui persiste sur le finale, pas très agréable. La finale est assez moyenne, avec ce boisé et cette amertume. Bof bof... Je lui met un 60/100

 How I like this. Big dark colour, tropical fruit, espresso, coffee notes, subtle winey notes on the nose. on the palate I taste tropical fruit, subtle woodiness, raisins, a lovely long finish to a red dessert wine.

 Quite a different bottle from its twin sister, with yellow fruit and spices! Very nice!

 First taken on its own: the nose is greedy, with brioche, butter and brown sugar wrapped in a woodiness that seems discreet because of its elegance. It's not very pronounced, but its presence is there and it frames the rest. There are sweet spices and a hint of acidity. On the palate, this acidity is reminiscent of grapes! There's other fresh fruit and a lovely freshness throughout the mouth that balances with the degrees, the mouth is warm, all well integrated. The palate is fat and greedy, with some spice and harmonious oak. A very good rum, quite complex. It's different from the other forest, more affordable and closer to what you'd expect from a good old rum. It has a more open profile. It's interesting to contrast the two: one is dark, withdrawn and more coffee-like, while the other is greedy, buttery and more raisin-like. Cool exercise

 15/03/25: tasted @ Brussels Rhum Festival. Very nice Agricole rhum. Tasted alongside the Forêt de Montpensier release, which is an interesting concept/comparison. The influence of the wood used for the cask really made a difference. I preferred this Chantilly over the Montpensier, but it's like splitting hairs.

 Brussels Rhum Festival 15/03/2025 Tasted side by side with HSE Montpensier for the different wood influence. Both interesting rums with different flavours then I'm used too. I think they both need too rest to bring out the nose. This one is a bit more intens, so I like this one more. Agricole recomendation.

 Degustation comparative des 2 forêts. Le nez de celui-ci est assez typique d'un martiniquais avec un bel équilibre fruits/épices/boisé et une touche briochée. La bouche tend vers le fût et une amertume, qui reste en finale, moyenne sous tous les aspects.

 Quelques notes de Girofle Amertume contenue mais longue Belle longueur

 Woah! Woody, dark, sensual. Sweet and savory with very round tasting tropical fruits. Finish can be nice. I was getting table grapes for a while but now getting a hint of what i hate about the velier el amparo - soap. But it’s ever so faint and excusable :).