Poisson Père Labat Black Opus 2009

Père Labat, the small and well-reputed distillery on Marie-Galante, makes this Black Opus, a 2009 agricole aged eleven years and bottled at 42%. Marie-Galante blancs are often bottled high, but here the house turns to a gentler, dessert-leaning aged style pressed from fresh sugarcane juice.

Distilled on a column still run low to preserve the cane congeners, it matures in ex-bourbon oak with a noted cognac-cask element across its final years. The nose carries wood, raisin, toasted notes and vanilla, the palate brings woody depth, citrus, raisin and caramel, and the finish is creamy and full-bodied with spice and pastry. The grassy cane core stays present beneath the soft vanilla and caramelised sweetness. The added-sugar status is not documented and reads as wood-derived. Elegant and very accessible at 42%, it drinks as a refined digestif, though those who like more proof may wish for extra punch.