Riviere Du Mat Cuvée 1886 is a celebration of the founding year of Reunion's Saint-Benoit distillery. This old molasses rum, bearing the GI Rhum de la Réunion, is a blend of several of the distillery's vintages. Cellar master Jean Grondin has incorporated barrels from vintage years such as 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Nico's tasting notes
The nose opens with an exotic fruit salad in syrup, with velvety but aromatic guava, surrounded by pineapple, papaya and yellow fruits such as peach. A slight hint of oxidation seems to indicate other, whiter fruits, such as pear and apple.
Aeration brings harmony to this fruity ensemble. The result is a soft, thick, concentrated and gently spicy fruit paste, set on a bed of fresh, mellow tannins.
On the palate, the wood delivers toasty, caramelized tannins, which cool and become greener as the rum evolves on the palate. They stretch into fruity notes of ripe raspberry, guava and quince, before melting into dried fruits like apricot.
The finish is more pastry-like, with a touch of almond and stone that settles on dried fruit.
"A rum full of fruit, fresh or candied, enriched by mellow tannins..."
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