Savanna Unshared Cask for France 2014

Savanna on Reunion makes agricole, molasses rum and high ester Grand Arome side by side, and this Unshared Cask for France is a cane juice rum from the 2014 vintage, distilled on a Savalle still and bottled unsweetened at cask strength. At nine years with a Port cask finish, it is a single cask outing that pairs the distillery's distinctive character with a drier wine influence, bottled at 59.4%.

The Port finish leans dry rather than sweet, the nose vegetal and fruity with wood and dried fruit, the palate bringing red fruit, Port notes and oak, the finish carrying citrus, earthy notes and black tea over spicy wood. The house funk stays present beneath the wine cask, giving a profile that is characterful and a touch austere. At full strength it needs time in the glass to settle, best taken neat by drinkers who like Savanna and high ester agricole and prefer complexity to easy sweetness.