Image: Inside the Cálem production facility. 4. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup: combining peanut butter and chocolate is one of mankind’s greatest achievements. With the Reese’s cup we’re dealing once again with milk chocolate and considerable sweetness but tamed by the peanut butter. An aged tawny—20 years or older—would be perfect. Try the Burmester 20 Year-Old-Tawny. 5. KitKat Bar: milk chocolate again with the crunchy—and very sweet—wafers. I didn’t recall KitKat bars being so sweet but this is right up there with the Hershey Bar. A glass of chilled white port would work well. Try the Kopke 20-Year-Old White Port. 6. Ghiradelli “Intense Dark” 60% cacao. Now we’ve moved over to the big leagues in terms of chocolate quality and cacao intensity. With 60% cacao
content the Ghiradelli bar is medium-sweet at best with some serious flavor intensity along with tannins on the finish. Pairing: the Ghiradelli bar needs a good late-bottled-vintage port like the 2009 Cálem LBV. 7. Valrhona “Le Noir Amer” 71% Cacao: serious chocolate from one of world’s top producers—and the best thing you can possibly do with $2.99 at Trader Joe’s. This bar completely nails a perfect balance of fruity chocolatey sweetness with the bitterness of cacao and just a touch of bitterness. The finish/aftertaste is very long, persistent, and delicious. Pairing? Something with medium sweetness and
more than a bit of tannin like the 2011 Kopke LBV. 8. Valrhona “Le Noir Extra Amer” 85% cacao: this is grown up chocolate and by far the most intense entry of the entire tasting. There’s just barely enough sweetness to counter balance the rich, earthy, and bitter cacao notes. The finish is miles long and very persistent. Any wine paired with the 85% Valrhona not only has to match the overall intensity of the chocolate but also have enough sweetness and tannin to match the same elements in the bar. Best to look for a new release of vintage port or LBV like the 2012 Kopke Quinta de São Luis.
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