L’Artisan du Chocolat Chapel Down Sparkling Wine Truffles

I’ve been blessed recently trying a wide variety of outstanding and interesting chocolate creations. Even with Artisan du Chocolat I’ve had chocolate that I’ve loved such as the Espresso Dark Chocolate Bar and the Chocolate Scotch Egg and ones I’ve liked less including the Darjeeling TBar and other one, I think it was the gingerbread bar which I didn’t really like, and didn’t get time to publish my views. But these Chapel Down Sparkling Wine Truffles are somewhere in between.

At £12.50 you don’t except them to set the world alight with flavour and sensation, but you do expect them to match the range of Charbonnel et Walker chocolate truffles – and they did – just.

I found the packaging very good, to a point. I was a little annoyed that the sellotape used to secure the box came up over the top and spoiled the look a bit. I can’t remember if these truffles were packaged in store or were already taped up as there was a lot going on, but it would have nice if the tape wasn’t showing. Other than that, the bow looked great and the golden embossing gave it a nice air of quality.

I also liked the several layers of packaging. There was a simple, but effective heart-shaped tape that joined the two sections of the internal wrapping paper. Underneath was some padding to keep the truffles from banging around.

Now if you compare these truffles to the Charbonnel et Walker Pink Champagne Truffles you get 16 truffles, weighing 160g for £12.50, whereas you get 9 truffles weighing 135g for £9.50. Or 78p a 7.8p a gram for the L’artisan truffles and 7.03p for the Charbonnel. Not a huge difference – about 11%. With Prestat it works out at 78.5p a truffle and 5.4p a gram which sounds about right.

But what about the taste? Well, there’s nothing remarkable here. The Charbonnel truffles have a lovely alcoholic zip to them, whereas these just didn’t. There’s nothing unpleasant about them, just that they weren’t great, nothing imaginative and just, well average. Individually they look great, collectively they’re fantastic but they just don’t strut with any swagger when you actually eat them.

The texture was ok, there wasn’t a soft, velvety feeling that I hoped for. More of a laying on the sofa with a book and something naff on TV. Nothing really exciting.

Perhaps this range of chocolate & sparkling wine truffles aren’t meant to offer a wow factor? Perhaps they’re just meant to be an accompaniment at a dinner party – a side issue, if you will. But I just think they missed a trick. I like alcoholic chocolate truffles, to, well taste alcoholic. The Sleekster Love Collection knocks your socks off. This box doesn’t even manage to bend down and reach them.

I’m sorry about the negative review, I just expected, and hoped for more!