Marie Galante, often nicknamed the Island of A Hundred Windmills or perhaps more bluntly Big Pancake, is a relatively small island off the coast of Guadeloupe, to which it is officially recognised as a dependency; Guadeloupe itself an overseas department of France. Together, Guadeloupe and Marie Galante are part of the Antilles archipelago of islands that form of curve around the Caribbeans. The island of Marie Galante itself is circular in shape and rather flat, sporting a more dry climate as compared to the larger Guadeloupe. 

Marie Galante

And whilst its story is one that's not particularly dissimilar to its neighbouring islands, wherein Europeans had brought about cane farming for the purposes of extracting sugar, which in turn spawned the peripheral activity of rum-making, it is worth noting that historically Guadeloupe produces a whole lot of rum! In fact, it might surprise some to find that its output outsizes that of the much more well-known Martinique - also a fellow overseas department of France. Yet, in rum circles this is often readily attributed to Guadeloupe's abstinence from seeking out some sort of AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) that formalises, standardises and thus helps serve a consistent branding for the island's rums to the international rum community. Yet what that does create is a set of historically rich rum producers who lean in to more creativity and experimentation seeing as there's by and large no rules to abide by - this of course produces some great rums and some terrible rums. 

Yet whilst it might seems like Guadeloupe and Marie Galante are being lumped together in the same breath - this only goes as far as sovereignty and legalities dictate; where it comes to rum-making, they're wholly different, having developed their own local style - perhaps most conspicuous of which is that you'll almost entirely find Marie Galante's rums to be bottled at 59% ABV, something that the three distilleries on the island are quite proud of (and which they only water down by way of rainwater). Whilst the combination of islands of both Guadeloupe and Marie Galante once sported over 70 distilleries some 200+ years ago, today only 6 exist on Guadeloupe and 3 in Marie Galante.

And so as the story goes, towards the end of the 18th century, Bielle (so named after Jean-Pierre Bielle, who had also operated a coffee shop), like many others on the island, operated as a sugar mill, borne as a result of the Bielle family having owned cane fields in the Grand-Bourg area, just slightly off the island's center. It wasn't till the early 20th century that rum-making started to happen on the estate. Things were largely start and stop for awhile until Paul Rameaux came along in 1955 and bought the estate. Rameaux would refurbish the distillery and get rum-making back on track by 1958. Unfortunately, it didn't quite take off.

Dominique Thiery

Yet, thankfully by 1975 Rameaux's grand-nephew, Dominique Thiery, would take over and bring the estate to rum glory. Till this day, Bielle remains the only fully family owned distillery on Marie Galante. Under Thiery, the distillery's operations would get ironed out and be made more consistent. Water was no longer drawn from a nearby pond, and instead now comes from a borehole. Sugarcane comes from some 150 growers on the island, handcut and transported to the distillery by ox within 48 hours of harvest - Thiery would see to it that the growers he worked with were well-compensated, paying them an extra 15 euros per tonne of cane delivered. The growers have in turn made sure that the cane reaches the distillery in its best condition - absolutely essential when making agricultural rums produced from delicate sugarcane juices that don't last beyond 3 days.

What sets Marie Galante apart is that the island unlike its neighbours is characterised by limestone rich soils as opposed to volcanic soils, which combines with the high level of sunshine and little rain experienced by the island to give sugarcanes that are clean yet concentrated, in turn supporting Bielle's making of sweet and fruity rums. On the island, various varieties of red, black and blue canes are readily grown, and Bielle has worked to preserve ancestral varieties such as cane grise, cane baltazia and cane genou casse - these have even become part of Bielle's single varietal range of white rums.

Bielle Distillery.

To ensure that the cane juices remain concentrated, they are run through two mills, and fermented in open vats with baker's yeast for between 24-48 hours, all within 48 hours of harvest! It is then distilled with three 16-tray Savalle copper column stills, designed to capture maximum flavours (and hence, it is not a 40-tray still and the resulting spirit never goes beyond 75% ABV). The cane spirit produced is then left to rest for several months before being brought down to 59% with rainwater, and then finally it is bottled for the domestic market. The distillery goes through 40-50 tonnes of cane per day and produces between 3,000 and 4,000 liters of cane spirit.

For the international market, the cane spirit is filled into a tank that then transports it to Cognac, France, where is then bottled (with no dilution). It's interesting to note that there is some evaporation that happens along the way, which Thiery sees as the rum having somewhat aged at sea - contributing to a more rounded rum that is thus offered to the international market as it has rested the additional time it has been out at sea. Thiery, who is quite an avid environmentalist, deliberately chooses to ship the bulk rums by tank, forgoing any packaging material, and only bottling the spirit once it arrives at its destination, so that he is able to reduce the weight of the transported goods and in so doing, also brings down carbon emissions. This environmentalism even permeates his insistence on cutting the cane by hand and transporting it to the distillery by ox.

Relics of Bielle's history.

Thanks to the work of Jacques Larrent who had left the Cognac house Martell to join Bielle, the distillery had thus ventured into putting out aged rums. Larrent was once on holiday in Marie Galante and had visited Bielle only to strike up a great connection with Thiery, and would thus eventually join the Marie Galante distillery. Under Larrant, Bielle would begin producing not just aged rums, but also vintage rums that stated the year in which it was produced - both placing it as one of the first in Marie Galante to do so. Whilst Thiery had already explored ageing his rums, it was Larrant who is said to have provided the expertise. Bielle would also be the first to release a brut de fût (cask strength) rum. The island offers an angel's share of 8% annually, with half the barrel evaporated by the time gets to the 7-8 year mark, which is also why Bielle's rums have also been notable in terms of their prices. The distillery also pays good attention to its amber rums, which whilst not being regulated, the distillery nevertheless ensures that the rums are properly aged in ex-Bourbon barrels. The distillery has also experimented with Cognac barrels and white wine barrels, and also played around with different wood grain sizes and toasting profiles.

Today Bielle holds great repute, with a great deal of credit going to Thiery for his decades of effort, and now with his children poised to succeed him.

And so with all that said, let's try Bielle's most prized Canne Grise Rhum Blanc!

Let's go!

Bielle's white rums and mono-varietal cane range.

Rum Review: Rhum Bielle Canne Grise Blanc, 59% ABV

Bottled at the Marie Galante tradition of 59% ABV, this is made wholly of the ancestral Canne Grise varietal of sugarcane, and is part of the distillery's range of single (or mono) varietal cane rhum blanc bottlings that's an effort by the distillery to preserve and keep these rarer varieties of canes alive. This white rum is produced in the agricultural style, and hence should probably be called rhum instead, where the cane juice is distilled in column stills, and after which is allowed to rest before bottling. Unlike those shipped off to Europe, this was rested and bottled on-site in Marie Galante. 

Tasting Notes

Colour: Clear

Aroma: It opens with a touch of industrial diesel and well worked machinery, followed closely by a herbal, gentle yet almost chewy sweetness of nipa palm seeds. It's aromatic yet delicate, with then more on freshly crushed cane.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it's rich and firm in texture, with that palm seed chewiness and gently herbal sweetness still forming the core. More on desiccated coconut and freshly crushed cane, with also cooked vine leaves giving an almost wet leafy touch.

Finish: Those palm seeds persist even through the finish, still chewy and gently sweet. It's a long finish with some pepper and meaty savouriness that lingers.

My Thoughts

A thoroughly wonderful and evocative white rum that's so pure and rustic, completely demonstrative of the special ancestral canne grise that was used to produce it. It's incredibly distinct with that palm seed delicate chewiness and sweetness, almost herbal as well - something you don't find all too often with unaged rums. At the same time this maintains an impressive body that's rich and firm in texture, yet completely seamless and rounded even at its proof. It's got good complexity - still really unique - with notes of cooked vine leaves and desiccated coconut flakes that accompany the more classic freshly crushed cane. It's long and still seamless on the finish, keeping its richness into an almost syrupy finish.