Legendary survivor…

At the end of the 19th century, the craze for rum was unprecedented, propelled by a French vineyard then ravaged by phylloxera. It was the end of April 1902 when François-Marius FANTON loaded a last load of rums onto his boat: a certain Madinina rum, pure vesou aged 7 years in oak barrels. It was the end of April and in a few days, on May 8th to be precise, Mount Pelée would explode, asphyxiating the town of Saint-Pierre and its 30,000 inhabitants...

Price : its price varies between 3000 and 4000€, an exceptional bottle requires it . there is no degree indicated but the tasting suggests more or less 45°.

Age : The rum is 7 years old, distilled in 1895 and bottled shortly before 1902.

I've been waiting for it for so long, here it is, this rum, oh the Holy Grail of agricultural rum, surviving the cataclysm of 1902.

Sailing around the islands of the Caribbean Sea. The voodoo drums made the winds rise.
Discovering reefs where English corvettes had long lain in their coats of clay. I have forgotten the name of this lost island, where the fast current pushed my black boat. I have long searched for an unknown land, hidden at the bottom of the waters of the Caribbean Sea. If you go to ……

As soon as you open the bottle, the rum already sets the tone, with a scent of exoticism and punchy aromas .

Slowly poured into the glass, the amber-brown color already confirms the age of this Madinina 7 years old, the rim reflects shades of slightly orange greenish gold that I have often noticed when tasting very old rums.

After a few minutes of airing , the varnished, acrylic side evaporates and gives way to subtle notes of vanilla, sugar cane, apricot kernel heart, marmalade, prune jam . A volley of dried fruits, currants, walnut kernels, pecans. While evolving gradually, spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, cloves come to enhance, robusto tobacco, licorice cachou, zan. The finesse of exotic wood completes the scents. A very great olfactory complexity. It is necessary to wait a good thirty minutes to extract all these notes.

This is the moment, the tasting. The rich and oily texture promises a beautiful length in the mouth . A little nervous, difficult to define the alcohol content because there is no indication on the label I would say about 45°. Yes we are indeed on an agricultural rum. We immediately find the spices, the cigar humidor, a slightly rancio side of old cognacs. Lots of finesse and subtleties confined in the final superb liquorice notes.

Despite its great age spent sleeping in the depths of cellars, the finish of this Madinina is still full of vigor.

Without a doubt, uncapping and uncorking such a bottle is always a moment imbued with restraint, a page of history that is savoured, and rather rare. My thoughts fly to this devastated, torn island with its many distilleries that have disappeared forever and will leave only their names in memories and writings.

Hubert CORMAN.

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.

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