We already stopped last year at Chamarel ( right here ) and 3 of their rums including a succulent Single Barrel 2008 which commemorated the distillery's very first harvest; today we return to its "follow-up", a 2009 vintage, still aged 6 years and bottled at 45°.

The opportunity to taste two other rums from the same house, but this time bottled for the 70th anniversary of Velier. Selected in August 2017 by Luca Gargano and Olivier Couacaud (director of Chamarel), this is the first time that a rum from Chamarel is bottled and offered at natural strength (Mauritian regulations prohibit bottling a rum with more than 50% alcohol).

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Chamarel Blend 2010-2014 / 56.5°

A "vatted single rum" made from pure cane juice from the Chamarel rum distillery. This blend of rums distilled in 2010 and 2014 (casks #181 and #182) aged in a tropical climate before being bottled (1,173 copies) in 2017 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Velier Trading House.

The color is amber tending towards old gold, oily and shiny.
On the nose, it is sweet and vegetal, on a hay wrapped in honey and vanilla, on a sort of hybrid between fodder and sugar cane. The result is sweet, honeyed, between exoticism (citrus fruits, green fruits) and fresh herbs, but where tranquility prevails in an interesting and refreshing blend. The spices (cinnamon) bring hold and seriousness, and the exoticism persists and signs a rather gourmand and 'thick' nose. A beautiful promise for the mouth.

On the palate, the attack is fat and concentrated like never before, explosive. Vegetal and fruity copulate to give birth to a rum that is both gourmand and vegetal, spicy (peppery) and vanilla. It is probably not the most complex rum of the year, but we spend a good time there without any hassle and the concentration gives it another dimension. The palate becomes a little more woody and peppery and ends quite dryly, persisting on empyreumatic notes.

A buttery and concentrated pastry rum that will be of great interest to Chamarel lovers. For others, it will be an opportunity to discover this house without going through the "official and often too diluted" bottlings box. Rating: 85

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Chamarel 2009 / 45°

Its double distillation in a repasse still, its aging in new French oak barrels (ex-Cognac), its bottling in 2015 in a limited number of 700 bottles give this 6 year old an already unique profile. A second batch was bottled from the same vintage.

The color is amber tending towards copper, deeply oily and gourmand: it even reveals beautiful and thick legs.
On the nose, this single barrel 2009 is very rich and offers a very beautiful concentration from the start, gourmand, warm and humid, captivating and cocoa; it triggers a labial pleasure that is painfully concealable: the dried fruits are honeyed and sprinkled with boiling spices and Sunday vanilla; it is beautiful and agricultural, dry and vibrant with a youthful oak and an obvious and palpable vegetal aura (dried herbs), nuts. A rum that offers a beautiful journey and an assumed complexity.

The palate is slightly oily and quite lively, vibrant. This time it is the wood (incisive) and spices that dominate in a rather dry and monolithic whole; quite a few tannins that gradually dry out the palate, just visited by some vanilla dried fruits that catch up and bring a certain balance. The finish is moderately long, still dry, then sweeter and spicier.

Another Barrel Monkey and another profile. The nose is captivating and superbly pleasant, but the palate is below par and will make the wood speak a lot, young and lively. The 2008 remains clearly more complex, rich and explosive. Score: 84

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Chamarel 2011 Warren Khong (Edition 70 ans Velier) / 55.5°

This pure single rum is the result of a blend of 2 barrels (#i27 and #i28). These rums have aged for 6 years in a tropical climate in old French oak barrels that once contained cognac. A limited edition of 592 bottles, bottled in 2017 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Maison de Négoce Velier.

The color is a light amber/old gold, shiny and oily. The tears flow pianissimo.
On the nose, the profile is roasted, warm and delicately caramelized, on a honey of dried fruits and gamey herbs. The wood is toasted and vanilla, and offers a classy and deep atmosphere. The alcohol is superbly well integrated and the sweetness reigns. Powdery, on cocoa, spicy on cinnamon and gray pepper, we are well above the glass, thoughtful and relaxed. Between relaxed gluttony and assumed seriousness. With rest, the fruit becomes exotic and light, vaporous and at heart. Dry and gourmet.

On the palate, the attack is oily and very rich, enveloping and almost resinous. We remain very faithful to the nose, in a beautiful balance (a beautiful explosion even) and especially in a depth never yet experienced at Chamarel. Thank you natural degree! The dried fruits spit their sugar and the spices scream in a cacophony regulated by an assumed degree. There is life in this mouth, experience and stories, cane and juices. The finish is necessarily long, persistent, and always tasty on sweet and warm spices, but also alcohol and an uninhibited oak.

The nose, rather wise, combines simplicity and class, while the mouth will make the real difference by offering a beautiful explosion of flavors (a first of its kind at Chamarel), with perhaps a little too much alcohol in the end. In cross comparison, my preference still remains on the Single Barrel 2008 (Rating: 88) which remains more complete and knows how to combine richness, balance and pleasure (whether on the nose or in the mouth). This 2008 must have been undoubtedly fabulous at the natural level…; Chamarel is definitely a very interesting house, and probably does not need a black bottle to shine. Rating: 86

To help you (and me) find your way around, regarding the notes:

90 and + : exceptional and unique rum, it is the best of the best
between 85 and 89 : highly recommended rum, with that little something that makes the difference
between 80 and 84 : recommendable rum
75-79 POINTS : above average
70-74 POINTS : in the low average
less than 70 : not very good

Review courtesy of DuRhum.com.

From the folks behind DuRhum, Velier, and more, comes a premium online marketplace for rum enthusiasts by rum enthusiasts! Do check out www.rowspirits.fr for more great content and iconic rums!