One vintage can hide another... here is a special selection, a 14-year-old rum bottled for Belgium, and not to be confused with the brand's 'official' 1998 (which is 9 years old and 44.8°).

Price : between 80 and 100€, 70cl and 46.2°.

Age : distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2012 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of La Maison du Rhum (Belgium). A rum from a single cask and limited to 272 bottles.

Here is a special selection, a 'private vintage' selected by John Van Der Pluym, manager of La Maison du Rhum; According to the latter, "the rum was coarsely filtered to remove large wood waste, and not reduced". It is the result of a test by cellar master Christian Vergier, and was aged in a barrel from Missouri (C8-200 barrel). It should be noted that today, this type of barrel is no longer used.

This 1998 Trois Rivières offers a bronze color with copper highlights, and a crown of fine droplets appears to soon give way to imposing legs. Greenish disc on the surface.

The nose is ample and rich, candied, vanilla, chocolatey, very seductive and round ; grilled notes of dried fruits and spices arrive, as well as marmalade, stewed banana. Everything seems to melt into one, it is very beautiful and very well mastered. Nothing takes precedence, everything is balance and finesse, and we would probably stay there for hours (and it works for a very long time). The alcohol is very well integrated.

The mouth is smooth, at first very soft on fruits mixed with spices, on liquorice, it then becomes stronger , more tonic. We find macerated fruits, a classy woody (tobacco) and rested, chocolate, and tangy and grilled notes (spices) for a festival of flavors and pleasure.

The finish is tasty and rather long; it gives pride of place to the fruits and a woody taste that is always so classy and tasty, with still and always these notes of tobacco. We want to come back to it very quickly but the beautiful persistence allows us to take our time and avoid rushing... The empty glass delivers its share of spices (clove, nutmeg).

Superb rum, probably one of the finest expressions of Trois Rivières that I have tasted in recent years. The 2003 vintage, also released for the Belgian market (2003/2013, aged in bourbon casks, bottled at 51.5°), is also above the rest. As for the other 'historical' vintages, much older (and different), they will be the subject of a cross-tasting that will be published soon. Score: 87

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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