August 3rd: Galler Vanille

Kcal 473 Fat 27.0g Fat(sats) 17.0g Carbs 54.2g (per 100.0g)

Ever since I started reviewing their products in February 2010, Galler have been sending me more and more samples from their range, and just last week I received yet another parcel containing several of their filled chocolate bars. One thing I have to take the time to congratulate Galler for is their willingness to listen to what my readers want. I say this because the latest batch of goodies they sent me, contained several of the bars requested by ChocolateMission readers on previous reviews. One of these bars was the Galler Vanille, which was a product enquired about by frequent site reader and commenter Nigel. This Vanille offering came billed as 'dark chocolate with a natural vanilla filling', and I had high hopes that it would fair better than the Ritter Sport Bourbon Vanille bar which struck me as it's closest equivalent.

In alignment with the majority of the Galler filled bars range, this Vanille flavour came in a 70.0g bar that was split into four large sized chunks. Usual grumbles at the mammoth size of the blocks aside, the presentation was as classy as ever, and this time a pale blue pastel colour was used to communicate the Vanille flavour variant. If you look above to my photo of the chocolate you will see that the vanilla filling was plentifully portioned within it's dark chocolate shell, and I thought it looked appetising with it's slightly whipped looking texture. In regards to aromas the bar emanated a strong set of roasted cocoa smells, though disappointingly I couldn't detect any evidence of vanilla.

On the eye the chocolate exterior looked very dark in colour which created a decent visual effect with the paleness of the filling. In terms of strength the bar was of only of a 60% cocoa recipe, yet it still managed to create a flavour impression that other 80%+ chocolates could only envy. When placed on the tongue, the outer dark chocolate melted at a nice rate, and with a pleasant softness. Whilst in its transition from a solid to liquid state the flavours it generated were totally delectable, with the firm cocoa undertones nicely sense checked by an underlying buttery, milkiness. The chocolate did start out sweeter than I was expecting, though as the melt progressed these flavours developed in to more mature smokey, roasted cocoa bean notes. Having now bigged up the quality of the dark chocolate, I now have the displeasure in revealing that the vanilla filling wasn't anywhere near as good. Unfortunately the vanilla filling got completely lost in the richness of the dark chocolate and it failed to add a significant contribution to the taste. When I took the time to nibble around the chocolate to eat the filling in isolation, it was still very mild in it's sweet cream based flavours. When searched for, there were minor hints of vanilla essence detectable amongst the thick creme like substance, however the strength of the dark chocolate largely dictated that it played no part in the resulting taste.

Overall this was one of those products that was particularly hard for me to score. On one hand the chocolate I tasted was very decent and I got great enjoyment out of the taste that it offered. On the other hand I wasn't left ultimately satisfied in what it did deliver, as the promised vanilla flavouring was poorly implemented and pretty much absent from what I experienced. At the end of the day I have to reflect the latter in my ultimate scoring of this bar. Whilst I could easily award this product a higher score for it's taste attribute based on the superb quality of the dark chocolate, what I have to factor in is the disappointment that was caused by the vanilla filling. Between Ritter Sport and Galler I have managed to experience both ends of the vanilla flavour spectrum, with the Ritter bar being overly sweet and fake tasting, whilst Galler's offering being non-committal and bland in comparison. Both of these brands could take a few pointers from the fantastic Lindt Creola Vanille bar that I reviewed back in 2009, as to date that still remains one of the finer vanilla flavoured centre chocolates I have tried. This may not have been the best Galler product I have ever reviewed, but the quality of the chocolate gives me great confidence that there are certainly better things to come.

7.6 out of 10