Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2002
Loved by Rowald Sweet Empire, Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰 & 13 more
For curious explorers who enjoy dry, woody agricoles: this 19‑year Saint James for Velier leans heavily into smoky oak, leather, tannic tea and citrus bitterness. RumX members praise the complex, fruit‑and‑wood nose but find the palate quite polarizing, with notable acidity and a recurring soapy, perfumed note. Best for slow neat sipping when you want something challenging and different rather than an easy crowd‑pleaser.
- Complex nose
- Deep wood notes
- Zero sugar
+9
Details about Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2002
How does Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2002 taste?
Aggregated from 59 community reviews.
Serious, woody, ultra‑dry agricole For curious explorers who enjoy dry, woody agricoles: this 19‑year Saint James for Velier leans heavily into smoky oak, leather, tannic tea and citrus bitterness. RumX members praise the complex, fruit‑and‑wood nose but find the palate quite polarizing, with notable acidity and a recurring soapy, perfumed note. Best for slow neat sipping when you want something challenging and different rather than an easy crowd‑pleaser.
Seasoned agricole fans who enjoy very dry, wood‑driven rums with leather, black tea, smoky oak and a challenging, slightly funky profile.
Newcomers, lovers of sweet smooth rums, and anyone sensitive to sourness, bitterness or soapy/perfumed notes in the glass.
How is Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2002 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 7.6 lands squarely in the "Good" band. 69% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Based on 59 ratings
Review by Rowald Sweet Empire
Tasted at a private tasting.
Review by Serge
Parallel tasting of the Velier Saint James range in the Franconian Tasting Gang. Thanks Dom for teasing me 👌 All in all, the set is not outstandingly good for me, but rather average with a few outliers at the top and bottom. Short summary by vintages: 2015 & 2014 were rather unpleasant for me. 2010 & 2012 better but still nothing I would want to drink again. 2008 & 2006 & 2004 were much better and more interesting. 2002 then a total failure again (cat piss that develops into multivitamin tablets and doesn't go with the wood at all). 2000 was good again and 1998 was the best of the set for me.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
This is one of those that you will either like or hate because of the heavy profile. I'd say it's pretty close to the Corman Collins release just with even more smoky wood and tannins. Dry with dried fruit and spices in the back. But the smoky wood and tannins take the front seat on this one. A super dry finish!
Review by Palo - V Poháriku
This vintage honestly didn't really fit my preferences. In my humble personal point of view, it feels a bit weaker even than the younger vintages from this release. Yes, it's got some nice flavours, but I am not a fan of the strong sourness on the palate. Still think it is a good piece worth having a sip of.
Review by ilRummista
Il mio preferito della serie, complesso ma bilanciato. Un bellissimo Saint James!
Review by Adrien B
Nez à l'air plus sucré, sciure Bouche vif, acide , végétal acide Non trop savonneuse Un côté PM ddl
Review by Ayc
L’ovni complet de la vertical. A l’aveugle intégral au nez, on pourrait sûrement penser à un jamaïcain, c’est assez dingue… genre un long pond tropi sans le côté colle/vernis même si on a de léger ester. La mangue trop (vraiment) mûre devant tout le reste pour moi, mais c’est très fruité (-ananas trop mûre aussi, maracuja frippé), un côté presque fumé/faisandé qui me ferait presque de très loin (car beaucoup moins intense) penser au teca 2003. C’est fou d’avoir tout ça sur un agricole. Parfois sortie de nul part on retrouve rapidement ce boisé saint james, mais c’est probablement car je le sais. En tout cas le bois a mis une bonne 20aine de minutes à arriver. La texture est mouthfeeling, ça tapisse la langue (à la limite du savonneux mais toujours agréable) comme le reste de la série on reprochera toujours ce je ne sais quoi un peu flotteux/wattery, sur de si beaux profils c’est un peu frustrant. On retrouve malheureusement beaucoup moins les fruits du nez en bouche même si tout cela reste agréable. C’est extrêmement boisé, mais l’amertume des tanins reste relativement maitrisée. La finale est un peu fleuris sur la jasmin, poivré, amertume porté par du zeste d’orange sanguine.. C’est un rhum que j’adore pour l’expérience qu’il propose, mais ce n’est ni un exemple d’équilibre, ni d’élégance bien au contraire.
Review by Alex Kunath
Ungewöhnliche aber sehr starke Nase mit wirklich interessanten Noten aber am Gaumen aufgrund dieser merkwürdigen Seifengeschmacks zum Teil schon ekelhaft.
Review by Joachim Guger
Die Nase gefällt mir sehr gut. Perfekt ausbalanciert, ohne das eine Komponente heraussticht. Holzig, schwer, getrocknete Früchte. Ein Hauch Blume. Im Mund sehr kräftig und knusprig, hier kommt nun wieder die Seife zum Vorschein. Im Gegensatz zu den jüngeren Vintages kann hier gerade noch dagegengehalten werden. Sehr guter, gediegener Saint James mit Schönheitsfehler.
Review by Frank
Großes VSGB-Vertical-live-Tasting von und mit Luca Gargano. 22.19.2022, 16:56. Dieser hier soll mehr als 2000 congeners haben. Nase: vollmundig, ausgewogen, lecker. Angenehmes, altes Sandelholz mit altem Vanillepulver, sahniges Toffee mit Johannisbeere, Blutorange und Kirsche. Getrocknete Pflaume und Rumrosine geben etwas gedämpftere Töne. Hinten, aber hier nur leicht, etwas Seife und leicht Lakritz. Die leckerste Nase der 10. Gaumen: das Alter macht ihn leider bissig. Ordentlich Säure und Seife zu Beginn. Kommt einem trotzdem recht dünn vor. Die Säure geht ins Salzige über und dann zu Zitronenschale, bevor er holzig wird. Dann kommt auch Kardamom und etwas Harziges und Grasiges. Im Abgang harziges Holz und Gras. Nach noch längerem warten kommt Litchi hinzu. Platz: N: 1/10 G: 10/10
Review by Rumclub Latvia
Very dry Rhum. If you like wood integrated in spirit, leather, “bookshelf”, nuts, black tea - this one will be yours
Review by Jarek
Franconian Rum Tasting Gang, 2024-05-10, Saint James 25 AOC Anniversaire (danke an Dom): 2002er ist eine der älteren Abfüllungen der Reihe kann aber mit dem 1998er und 2000er nicht mithalten, was für mich nicht so sehr an der Note von Katzenurin in der Nase liegt, sondern an der sehr störenden Note von Seife am Gaumen.
Review by Jakob
In direct comparison with the other vintages of the series on the nose more discreet fruit, but more spices and herbal notes. Again, slight waxy-soapy hints. Then very acidic and bitter on the palate, my primary associations are citrus and dark chocolate. The soap notes also remain perceptible, but remain in the background. Still does not meet my taste, as the acidity is too extreme for my taste. In my opinion, there are clearly better Saint James releases from 2002 - e.g. the Corman Collins.
Review by Johannes
The nose is really good, in complete contrast to the palate. A soapy off-note dominates here, which I find really unpleasant.
Review by Oliver
Too dry and too much acidity for my taste. I wouldn't have blindly ordered it to Martinique.
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Community purchases
39 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 3 members.
About the Saint James distillery
The Saint James distillery is located in Martinique. Rums from Saint James have been reviewed 4,619 times with an average of 8.1/10.
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Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2010
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Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2012
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Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2008
Velier Saint James Sélection exclusive Velier 2008Dry, woody agricole with divisive bitterness
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, together with Jakob, Robert and Lukas, we started RumX in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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