Isautier 10 Ans d’Âge Rhum Vieux

Isautier is a long established Reunion distillery, and this ten year Rhum Vieux is made from fresh pressed sugar cane juice, agricole in style on an island that sits outside the French AOC. Bottled at a soft 40%, it is pitched as an approachable, everyday aged rum rather than a flavour bomb.

A decade in French oak gives it a lightly woody, herbaceous character, with dried fruit and raisin on the nose, light caramel, vanilla and a leaner fruit note on a slightly watery palate, and peppery oak with a touch of apple on the finish. The cane juice base keeps it fresh and the wood stays restrained, so the whole thing reads as gentle and unhurried. It makes a solid stepping stone for drinkers building their palate toward agricole, an honest, easy sipper that will not satisfy those chasing cask strength intensity but does its everyday job well.