Bielle Rhum Vieux Agricole 3 Ans
Bielle · Distillerie Bielle
One of the most quietly excellent aged agricoles on the market — Bielle's 3 Ans punches well above its age statement, offering the mineral tension of Marie-Galante's limestone terroir wrapped in beautifully judged oak. A benchmark for what tropical maturation can do in just three years.
Nose
Toasted sugarcane and warm brioche open the glass, followed by candied orange peel, roasted almond, and a whisper of vanilla pod. Underneath, a mineral note — dry limestone and sun-cured grass — grounds the sweeter aromatics.
Palate
Silky and medium-bodied, with layered flavors of caramelized banana, cocoa nib, toasted coconut, and dried apricot. Oak arrives mid-palate carrying cinnamon, clove, and a light tannic grip, while the cane's grassy core keeps everything lifted and precise.
Finish
Long and warming, with lingering notes of toffee, tobacco leaf, and baked sugarcane. A gentle peppery bite trails off into vanilla and cocoa.
- Base Ingredient
- Fresh-pressed sugarcane juice from cane grown on Marie-Galante's limestone plateau
- Distillation
- Single-column Creole still, aged three years in ex-bourbon oak casks under tropical conditions
- Country
- Grand-Bourg, Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe
Cocktail Suggestion
Marie-Galante Old Fashioned — 2 oz Bielle Rhum Vieux 3 Ans, 1 barspoon demerara syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 dash orange bitters. Stir with ice for 20 seconds, strain over a large cube in a rocks glass, and express an orange peel over the top before dropping it in.
Food Pairing
Grilled pineapple with brown butter and toasted coconut, or a wedge of aged Mimolette with dark chocolate.
Perched on the limestone plateau of Marie-Galante — the small, cane-covered island south of Guadeloupe — Distillerie Bielle has been distilling since 1769, and today remains one of only three working distilleries on an island once home to over a hundred.
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