Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Domaine de Courcelles Grande Réserve 1972
Here's the surprise: 32 years in cask and barely any wood shows up. Instead you get a fruit bomb — cherry, strawberries-and-cream, peach, honey and vanilla, with a floral perfume note running through it. Several tasters reach for "Gummibärchen" (fruit-gummy candy) to describe it. Most adore it; a couple find the sweetness and perfume a bit unnatural for a rum this old.
The community says- Intense red fruit
- Well-integrated alcohol
- Elegant, complex
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Domaine de Courcelles Grande Réserve 1972 taste?
Aggregated from 34 community reviews.
Fruity, floral old Guadeloupe with little wood Beloved Velier bottling of Courcelles — intensely fruity, floral, honeyed, with the alcohol tucked away. Most call it their favorite of the 1972 series; a few find it too sweet and perfumed.
Fans of fruity, floral aged column-still rum
Anyone wanting dry, oaky old-rum character
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
16 of 34 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Velier Domaine de Courcelles Grande Réserve 1972 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 9.2 sits in the “Excellent” band. 97% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
6% rate it between 6 and 8. 14 selected write-ups from 34 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Oliver
Wow, a real aroma spectacle. Cherry gummy bears, sherry and a great woody influence. Extraordinarily good!
Review by Gianca Zil
Absolutely one of my favorite rums, that taste is smell "frizzy lazy " brings back memories of when I was a kid! Integrated alcohol , broad bouquet both on the palate and in the mouth , consistent ... absolutely in my top 3
Review by Righrum
One of the most amazing rums I've ever tried. Great complexity, dominated on the nose by strawberry and cream (big bubble anyone?) while in the mouth it's even fuiter and really expressive. No wood to be found here despite the massive 38y of ageing
Review by Mirco
Courcelle firecracker! 😊 My favorite of the whole Courcelle range, although the price difference makes me seriously lean towards the 3 alternatives from Switzerland. Wonderful rums which are balanced and very complex to enjoy.
Review by Serge
Blind Community Tasting Courcelles 1972 by Jakob Extremely fruity and red fruits play almost the sole leading role on the nose (apart from the perfume). Great. Picks me up extremely. A little darker on the palate but still extremely fruity. Possibly with a few boiled ones. Vanilla, cinnamon and somehow sparkling. Above all, long-lasting and developing. Clearly the best of the bunch for me.
Review by DomM
Outstanding stuff! Overall clearly a couple of points ahead of the Rhum House bottlings (which are amazing as well). Intense and complex on the nose. Thick boild down fruits take center stage combined with a mix of Christmas-y spices, some chocolate, honey and an amazing perfume note in the back. Similar notes on the palate with a well balanced delivery. Very elegant. Top notch! Cheers Jakob for the set!
Review by Manuel
RumX Tasting with 4 x Courcelles 1972 (RX1196, RX13308, RX5448, RX2650): The Velier was slightly ahead in the end. Best overall package with ingenious fruity enfluences. Many thanks to Jakob for the great opportunity.
Review by Jarek
RumX Community Tasting - Domaine de Courcelles (thanks to Jakob) Four bottlings in the blind tasting, 2008, 2014 and 2022 from Rhum House and 2005 from Velier. We were quite unanimous about the winner of the evening, and how else could it be, it was the not exactly cheap Velier bottling (fruity, flowery, sweet). For me, this was followed by Rhum House 2014 (similar profile, more cherry than peach), closely followed by 2008 (very similar to 2014) and finally 2022 (less fruity in comparison, more spicy, slightly more alcoholic). But they are all very close together, sometimes more and sometimes less notes of cherry and peach (iced tea), honey or honeycomb and lots of vanilla. Very good stuff.
Review by Adrianv
Very good rum, very elegant on nose, caramel, cherry, tasting this massive fruity bomb was a pleasure, sweet but not too much, balanced, royal taste... honey, chocolate, cinnamon. Finish is smooth, not so long and spectacular as I expected based on it's high reputation, but so elegant and smooth. Big thanks to Distilia guys for the sample!
Review by Giorgio Garotti
Amazing the difference between this and the lower gradation! There is intensity and richness of flavors here! With a profile that stands out from all other rums tasted! Very very very good indeed!
Review by Insta: spiritofbernard 🇫🇷
Just wow, the only downside to going over 90 is the slight lack of length.
Review by Johannes
Relativ trüb im Glas. Ich hoffe, dass das sample noch gut ist. Nase: ganz extrem, blumig, buttrig, Vanille, fruchtig, Parfum. Gaumen: Vanille, Butter, Pfirsich, Backgewürze, relativ süß. Ich weiß nicht so recht, wie ich ihn finden soll. Anfangs war ich noch irgendwie positiv angetan von dem außergewöhnlichen Geschmack. Aber nach und nach war er mir deutlich zu süß und von den Aromen zu künstlich und überbordend. Blind hätte ich wahrscheinlich auf einen plantation, leicht gesüßt, mit irgendeinem lustigen Finish getippt.
Review by F.L.O.
Numero Tres. Even more nutty and above all toffee on the nose than number 2. On the palate, significantly less of it than with number 2. Really crazy. Alcohol well integrated again. The finish is sufficiently country.
Review by Dirk Becker
Exotische Früchte in der Nase
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Details about Velier Domaine de Courcelles Grande Réserve 1972
A Column Still Rum from Guadeloupe, bottled by Velier, at 54%.
Community purchases
20 bottles logged by 13 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
30% opened, 4 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for Velier Domaine de Courcelles Grande Réserve 1972?
Community paid 575–1,133 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
20 purchased · 35 tasted · 39 wishlist · as of
About the Domaine de Courcelles distillery
The Domaine de Courcelles distillery is located in Guadeloupe. Rums from Domaine de Courcelles have been reviewed 241 times with an average of 9.0/10.
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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