Ghirardelli chocolate never disappoints, but its Intense Dark Cabernet Matinee chocolate bar is the most amazing chocolate I believe I’ve ever tasted. According to the package, this “luxuriously deep and velvety dark chocolate [is] infused with the tart flavor of blackberries and grapes.” The flavor must be made in a lab because the ingredients list doesn’t include blackberries or grapes, just “natural flavor.” While I’m usually not a fan of manmade flavors, this makes it so the chocolate is completely smooth. There aren’t any chewy bits inside of it, as many chocolates have when enhanced with orange flavor, for example.

The moment you tear some of the Cabernet Matinee foil off, it hits you. That smell is divine—fruity and chocolate and absolutely perfect. I could sit and smell that all day long! As you take out a square, you’ll notice that it begins to melt quickly, and you may see a purple tint to the chocolate. The first bite is silky and chocolatey, and as the chocolate melts in your mouth, the tart berry flavor intensifies and is left with you after you swallow the smooth dark chocolate.

This chocolate square was a complete surprise to me because I loved it so much. I purchased it on a whim, not expecting anything. I discovered it in the San Francisco Ghirardelli store, when I purchased a San Francisco-themed wrapper, but it was a new flavor then, and it was several months before I found it in my regular stores. Luckily Ghirardelli now has this flavor (and many others) available at local grocery stores and Targets, so you should be able to find it easily.

Ghirardelli’s Intense Dark Cabernet Matinee chocolate bar is definitely a chocolate every chocolate-lover and berry-lover must try!