Baie des Trésors, heart of the terroir

1 August 2023 | Interviews & Meetings
Baie des Trésors, heart of the terroir

Hello Stéphane Gouyer, thank you for granting us this interview. You are now one of the figures of the brand but it is a project imagined and led by several people. How did this Baie des Trésors project come about?

The Baie des Trésors project was born in 2017 from the desire of the managers of the Exploitation Agricole du Galion to diversify their production. The exploitation of Galion was devoted at that time to the harvest of sugarcane, bananas and cattle breeding.

I then noticed that the canes that we delivered to our customers for the production of their rums were initially mixed together regardless of their plots of origin and sometimes mixed with canes of various origins.

This is when Mathieu Leguay, François Le Grelle and myself came up with the idea of ​​a rum that would be made only from sugarcane of a single variety on a specific plot for each of its cuvées… An agricole rum that would embody the terroir in its DNA as it did not yet exist in Martinique.

Today there are distilleries in Martinique that produce "non-AOC" rum. Was it obvious for you to be part of this framework or were there exchanges relating to the requirements of the AOC Martinique?

Above all, it is important to point out that all of the Galion plots are classified AOC. This Martinique AOC is a great tool for us.

At first glance, it may seem very restrictive: Cane cutting period, distillation method, type of barrels, etc.

However, through its rules, it makes it possible to provide the consumer with products that comply with strict specifications guaranteeing the quality of the productions carried out within this framework.

Quality being one of the foundations on which the Baie des Trésors brand is based, it was obvious to us!

However, we respect the choice of those who do not adhere to the approach for more freedom in their productions.

baie des tresorssugar cane

La Baie des Trésors is defined as a Rhum de Terroirs with an "s". What is your definition of a terroir or should we say Terroirs?

For us, the terroir is the conjunction between the soil, the climate and the know-how of men.

We are fortunate to have a playground of 750 hectares for harvesting sugarcane. In this area we have several types of soils subject to totally different climatic conditions.

For example, the sugarcane plots of the Exploitation Agricole du Galion located furthest inland in alluvial soil and along the river and at the foot of the mountains, receive 2,500 to 3,000 mm of water. per year thanks to the more abundant rains in this area of ​​Martinique.

4 km from these, the sugarcane located on the Caravelle peninsula, a clayey area by the sea, receives a maximum of 1500 mm of water per year.

This is why we do not consider having a single and unique terroir, each of the “zones” of Le Galion having specific soil and climate characteristics. We would even like to have a classification approach for our land; a bit like in Cognac or in wine with land classified as “Grand Cru” and less well classified terroirs.

We all need to think about promoting our terroirs.

sugar cane landscape baie des tresors

Your first cuvées aged in wood were the result of a long research process. How did you select your barrels to release the first editions of Baie des Trésors Fruits des Pluies and Fleurs du vent?

As mentioned earlier, quality has always been part of the foundations of the project.

It was important to us that each step be taken through a series of analyses. We relied on the expertise of our cooper partner Seguin Moreau. With his team, we put each of our rum samples in contact with the different types of barrels authorized by the Martinique Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. It so happened that the optimal tannin extraction for our “wet” terroir Fruit des pluies rum was carried out from French oak barrels, while for the “dry” Fleur du vent terroir rum, it was from French oak barrels. American oak.

Will the rum lover be able to follow the evolution of each terroir over the years. If yes, how ?

The notion of terroir is closely linked to that of climate. This can be extremely variable from year to year in Martinique. All farmers know what the climate can do to the quality of their production.

For example, the rums from our 2020 harvests benefited from more sunshine than that of 2019, resulting in the appearance of new tasting notes linked to the sugar concentration of the canes.

For Fleurs du vent, there is a rounder side that appears while on Fruits des Pluies more structured notes of candied fruits appear. Each year, our rums are different thanks to the climate.

The rum lover will be able to follow the evolution of the products, an update of the tasting notes will be carried out each year on our website www.baiedestresors.mq.

sugar cane baie des tresors

You are releasing a new edition of your "Plein Soleil" white rum, the 2022 harvest, as well as two new barrel-aged "Fruits des Pluies" and "Fleurs du Vent". What are the taste characteristics of these cuvées?

Like 2020, 2022 was also a very dry year, drier than 2021. Fond Basile sugarcane, which is used to make Plein Soleil agricole white rum, took the opportunity to concentrate in sugar. We obtain a rum that is still just as sweet but even sweeter with menthol notes that appear in the mouth.

Regarding Fleurs du vent harvest 2020, it sports quite delicate, not very aggressive, pleasant and elegant notes of American oak, fresh coconut, and resinous pine. It is complex with gourmet pastry nuances. It also expresses delicate and expressive floral notes of rose hips and jasmine. We also find exotic fruits and ripe banana accompanied by a hint of marked vegetal freshness. The bottom of the glass is spicy, concentrated, dry.

For Rainy Fruits, harvest 2020, we find the elegant wood and the light vanilla note do not dominate the rum which remains fresh. Quite supple and delicate, smooth on the nose, the notes of candied fruit (apricot, cherry and grapes, orange peel) dominate the attack. Light spicy floral nuances (marshmallow, hyacinth) appear and combine with the nuances of fruit pies. The glass bottom reveals nuances of gingerbread, cinnamon, candied ginger and nutmeg, to finish on a fresh, almost minty nuance.

baie des tresors habitation

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Interview conducted by

Matthieu Lange
Matthieu Lange
Spirits Advisor