Bielle Premium (Double distillation) 2009

Bielle, the Marie-Galante distillery known for its experiments and high-proof bottlings, made this bottling from a double distillation, an unusual route for agricole, working from fresh sugar cane juice. The 2009 vintage was aged twelve years in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at cask strength, 50.7%.

Long tropical ageing has built a deep, dried-fruit-laden profile on the cane-juice base, the nose rich and rounded with noble wood, caramel and ripe tropical fruit, the palate turning to dried dates, dried fruit and roasted nuts, the finish sweet-toned with honey, caramel and wood. Unsweetened despite its richness, it shows how far a Marie-Galante agricole can travel from the grassy snap of a blanc toward a mellow, mature depth of dried fruit and oak. A rewarding older rum for contemplative sipping, where its full body and dried-fruit depth have time to unfold.