Bielle 2002

Bielle is a Marie-Galante distillery prized for its characterful, cane-variety agricole, and this 2002 is a single cask bottled at a natural 52.8%. Drawn from fresh sugar cane juice and matured twelve years in ex-bourbon, it shows the producer's more refined, structured side.

Tropical ageing has given it depth and a gourmand polish. The nose offers vanilla, oak, spice and a glue-like ester note, while the palate turns to vanilla, ripe fruit, nougat and cinnamon, with a brioche-like richness and a thread of salty licorice that sets it apart from the rest of the Bielle range. The finish brings barrel oak, menthol and dark chocolate. Balanced and finessed yet carrying real structure at full strength, this is an elegant aged agricole that rewards attention, a fruit-forward, gourmand single cask for slow, considered sipping.