Chocolate paired with wine is popular…but, how about a chocolate that TASTES like wine?! Yep, Brooklyn’s Raaka Chocolate has that covered with their 68% CAC Pangoa, Peru dark chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon bar!
According to the description on the back of the outer packaging: “This chocolate is tipsy. You don’t even need a glass!”
Unroasted cocoa nibs are steamed over a simmering big/bold California cabernet wine to infuse juicy, grapey flavors with a raisin-like finish.
You wouldn’t know it, but this bar is almost a year old (it was part of the July 2018 First Nibs subscription shipment). I love that the detailed mold design mimics the abstract illustration on the paper wrapper.
Tasting morsels segment easily with a sharp snap, releasing a raisin/dried fruit aroma. Starting off subtle, there were bursts of bright red fruit during the slow/even melt & the mouthfeel was, surprisingly, not completely smooth. It seemed like the grape/wine flavor was more vibrant when chewing the chocolate rather than just letting it melt on the tongue. Maybe it’s my imagination (or my palate becoming acclimated to the taste), but I swear the intensity of the fruit flavors are cumulative since my second “chomp” was like eating wine in solid form! Lightly tannic and long lasting finish mostly on the tip of the tongue and back of the throat.
Normally I have so much more to say in my posts; but, honestly, bold red wine is not my favorite spirit. Give me a late harvest or dessert wine & I’ll ooh and aah. Give me a gin and I’ll wax poetically.
I’ve been told by friends who are wine drinkers, that this bar is one of their favorites! So if the taste of California red wine is your thing, check out Raaka’s website for more details!