Velier Papalin Réunion 2023

Verdict: lovely blend of grand aroma and traditional, with serious cask aging but beautifully balanced. There are quite some woody, earthy, spicy characteristics, but enough room for fruit, mainly pineapple and orange (with some dried fruit in the finish). Nose: initially rather roasted, oaky and one spice, but gradually more fruit: a combination of pineapple, orange zest, bergamot. Also some chocolate, toffee, tobacco. Palate: friendly and lighter than the nose suggests. There is more citrus (orange, grapefruit), still also pineapple. The roasted side is mellowed, bringing mainly cedar wood, clove, pure cinnamon, chocolate, dark sugar. The earthy side of tobacco is hardly present. Finish: rather long, lingering and soft, with just the right amount of spice. Ginger bread, baking spices, cedar wood, burnt sugar, date, orange marmalade, tobacco and just a hint of ester.

I wasn't a fan of the Papalin range until now. But La Velier has come up with a very good Reunionese at a nice price. It's a perfect representation of the rhums trad found there, with the fruity side of the grand aroma, present but not overpowering. It drinks well, is pleasant, vegetal, floral, woody and fruity. A great success. In the end, it's what I expected from savanna's Le Must, which doesn't emphasize the fruitiness of the grand arôme enough. This is the case here.

Super price for a solid molasses from Reunion. Still smells a little musty but the rum opens up very nicely on the palate. 83/100 Second tasting: Nose again strawberry, marshmellow. On the palate again this musty cellar note. Blindly I can only rate this rum 78/100.

Really delicious Grand Arome/traditional mix from savanna here with a surprisingly high proportion of grand arome flavor. Very aromatic, round and delicious. Very pleasantly surprised by this grand arome! At the 2nd tasting slight point deductions because the herbal flavors of the traditionel portion predominate overall.

Blind tasting, therefore sensibly without the usual photo. Nice warm nose (Guyana?), but a fleeting first impression of gummy bears - that's it! Tip: The first impression is often the right one. Resolution: RX17322 (I wouldn't have guessed that it was a blend of rums from four different distilleries on La Réunion; I would have guessed a young Savanna traditionnel).

A complex nose, not really typical of agricultural rums. With paprika, young wood, dried herbs and gooseberry. The palate is soft and dry herbal aromas develop with cedar wood and hard-to-define fruit. The finish is long on cedar and dried herbs. A darker side when the glass is empty, with light tar and old wood. A very fine rum, complex and evolving!

#3856 12.10.2024 Romhatten Velier tasting. Had a nice afternoon with Danish rum friends at a Velier tasting. Nose Fresh, faint wood, light vinegar, light chocolate, overripe, fruits, light mango, light dried fruit. Palate Faint wood, oily, dried fruit, light sour, overripe, minerals, light coconut, light mango. Finish Medium to long, oily, light pear, light roasted, light chocolate, faint minerals, lightly salty. This is a pretty good release and the price to quality is really good in my mind.

For the price, another nice Papalin. However, this one is more on the woody and spicy side. It lacks a little fruitiness, which is unfortunately too much in the background. You can drink it once in a while, but I wouldn't need a bottle of it right now.

Floral, somewhat woody nose with spices, caramel and light esters. Initially restrained on the palate, with strawberries, sugar cane, some cinnamon and bitter notes coming through. Alcohol is moderately integrated. Good rum without surprises.

Beautiful Réunion rum with a high Grand Arôme content and lots of strawberry, overripe fruit with wood, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and spice. Really very good for the price. I had actually expected it to be stronger in the direction of a normal traditional rum.

Seit der ersten Nase vor 20 Minuten bin ich mir nicht sicher, was ich von dieser Abfüllung halten soll. Der erste Eindruck ist irgendwas zwischen altem, nassem Leder und missglücktem Versuch im Chemielabor. Am Gaumen dann fruchtige Kaugumminoten, holzig, Leder, Zimt, aber eher als scharfes Gewürz. Weiterhin leicht chemisch. Im Nachklang Leder, leicht brennend und ein pelziges Mundgefühl. Interessante Abfüllung, aber nichts, was ich als Flasche brauche.

Interesting and vibrant on the nose with quite some power and a mix of fruits and spices. Very nice. A little less vibrant on the palate. However, still interesting and complex on the palate. Focus is more on woody notes and spices from the cask with fruits taking a step back. This is very good value for money imo.

Von der Nase bis zum Abgang dominieren hier florale, pflanzliche, Muskat und vor allem Aromen heller Früchte den Rum. Etwas bitter/grasig, ganz besonders im Abgang, was mich allerdongs nicht sonderlich stört.

A blend of Savanna molasses rums from Reunion (10, 12 and 15 years) and an 11-year Grand Arôme, aged on site in French oak barrels. It smells of chocolate, vinegar and ripe tropical fruit. The palate is woody and mineral, with good length.

Coole Abfüllung. Bereits in der Nase Grand Arome Savanna. Leider zieht der Geschmack der Nase nicht zum Mund weiter. Wirkt etwas kantig und holzig. Abgang dann wieder etwas runder. Insgesammt ein solider Rum mit gutem PLV.