Millennium

Following the interview with Savanna published last week, it seemed appropriate to me to take an interest in their brand new release, the Millenium 1999 rum. The house's new 'prestige' product, supposed to fill the void left by their previous 15 year old.

Price : 140/150€, 70cl and 43° for a carafe limited to 2000 copies.

Age : blend of rums aged for 15 years in new oak barrels and in “roux” barrels that have contained cognac.

Beautiful carafe, luxurious box, each distillery has been releasing its super premium product for a few years now, the flagship of the range, supposed to be the ultimate quintessence of good taste. Of course, it happens that the reality is different, and that the impenetrable ways of marketing cleverly hide a more discordant sound, where simple disillusionment can cause a severe dent in any budget, and worse, disappoint you to the point of going elsewhere (and never coming back to a brand or a distillery). Yes, sometimes the beautiful bottle prevails over reason, rightly or not... But enough of these qualms, let's see what this Millenium has in the glass.

The color of this rum goes perfectly with its bottle, it's a fact; of a classy old gold, the rum has a heavy and ponderous appearance, imposing respect from the first glance . The liquid appears greasy and the enormous legs that form on the walls of the glass will only confirm the first impression, with already the implacable feeling of having in front of you a rich and concentrated rum, but can it be otherwise with Savanna?

On the nose, the judgment is formal and without appeal, the rum is rich, concentrated, warm , revealing in a certain unity stewed fruits, smoke, and a veil of vanilla so sweet and revealing that it pleasantly tickles your nostrils. 15 years in contact with wood also necessarily leaves traces, and the tannins are there, subtly mixed with the grilled spices, reinforcing this ambient heat: it is warm and concentrated, grilled, empyreumatic, heavy and weighty, but subtly.

The toasted notes become a little more present with aeration, liquorice appears, and always this smoky note which gives it a particular charm. It is difficult to find the influence of the cognac barrels, and this rum takes on the air of whisky here and there, far from being unpleasant, and surely to the taste of many amateurs. It will not evolve any further from this moment, so what is the point of waiting?

The attack is soft and concentrated, spicy and warm (warmly spicy, shall we say) . It gradually builds in power and the spices become peppery, spicy, the tannins rise to the forefront and the rum suddenly becomes ample and takes you not in the body but in the palate. A full and powerful mouth, concentrated and virile, on the same palette as the nose, but without real complexity.

The rum offers a powerful finish, always masterfully led by spices and wood , and we feel that the line is thin, and that the "too much" can at this moment prevail over the "enough" and over the good control of the whole; that the foundations are solid but that a nasty gust of wind could quickly come and change the situation and compromise the whole. The rum offers a beautiful length, and remains in the mouth for a long time, with the good memory of grilled spices.

Those who like gourmandise, exoticism and birdsong, move on; for lovers of Savanna, aromatic power, smoky and grilled notes, you will definitely find what you are looking for; But it is also fair to say that the limited editions of the house (much less expensive by the way) are much more interesting than this Millenium, which could also disappoint the die-hard connoisseur, but it is perhaps more intended to bait the lover of beautiful objects... everyone must take out their carafe, but it is often less nice than the rest, too bad for the price, which is much too high.

The last carafe of Savanna quickly disappeared from the radar screens, and this Millennium will certainly follow the same fate. And it is not the acute collectionitis that is gangrening rum that will improve the situation. Just like these false ideas, this chauvinistic propaganda from the island that wants Reunion rum to be necessarily less good than that of its neighbors, as if there were no bad rum on one side and the other... there are only false ideas and bad spirits. Trust only your appreciation, and let these sterile and age-old discussions rot in a corner, the tasting will separate one rum from another.

And when will there be a Lontan aged for 10 years? This rum has a potential that leaves one dreaming but which has not yet been exploited... but surely the product would sell less well than this carafe, it's a fact... Rating: 79

To help you (and me) find your way around, regarding the notes:

90 and + : exceptional and unique rum, it is the best of the best
between 85 and 89 : highly recommended rum, with that little something that makes the difference
between 80 and 84 : recommendable rum
75-79 POINTS : above average
70-74 POINTS : in the low average
less than 70 : not very good

Review courtesy of DuRhum.com.

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