Michel Cluizel - Grand Noir 85%, dark chocolate bar

I have no doubt many will like this but it isn't for me. I like my chocolate very dark and this, even at 85%, pales heavily in comparison to Pralus' Fortissima at 80%.

I absolutely adore Cluizel's dark truffles but the bars leave me disappointed.

A very easy chocolate bar to eat. Cluizel makes a smooth, mellow bar of chocolate. It's full of hints but lacking a cacophony of flavours you would expect from a Pralus. It comes in Lindt-like squares which melt on the mouth but I confess to preferring a chunkier bar. Nontheless, this is a wonderful example of an exquisite 85% and certainly a great introduction for those new to high percentage bars.

A very good chocolate bar but I thought a little lacking in flavour compared to some of the other bars I had delivered. Admittedly it doesn't have the astringency attached to cheaper, high cocoa chocolate but I did want something a little more similar to the Domori bar I had which had a really heavy roast, also like the Pralus bars which I read, and tasted, are more full roasted in flavour. I obviously like the roasted types more. I do like Michel Cluizel chocolate generally though and have a soft spot for French chocolate.

Possibly the most consistent in flavour of all the 85 percent bars I have tried and so perfection in my opnion. Given that it is an 85% cocoa content its not at all astringent or burnt tasting as you often find with cheaper chocolate bars (cocoa beans). So the quality comes through. I recommend.