Trois Rivières Millésime 1980

Trois Rivieres Millesime 1980 is a vintage Martinique rhum agricole from the storied Trois Rivieres estate, distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice. With cane rum dating to 1980, this is a genuinely old agricole from one of the island's most historic names, the kind of long-matured vintage that has become increasingly hard to find.

Decades of tropical ageing, with all the heavy angel's share that implies, have built a rum of extraordinary ripeness while keeping it balanced and elegant. The nose bursts with tropical fruit, prunes, raisin and mango; the palate follows with mango, papaya and marmalade; and the finish carries on with pineapple and more tropical fruit, threaded with a natural sweetness that comes from age and cask rather than additives. Described by those who know it as among the finest agricoles they have tasted, it is a contemplative, layered pour to be savoured slowly at 45%.