Arrese Pasteleria Bilbao, Spain
Spanish chocolate is very unique in flavor, generally a little bit sweeter and not as dark as French chocolate. Spanish chocolate tends to be very slightly acidic with a straight forward soft sweetness.
The most famous, and one of the best, Spanish chocolate couverture makers is Choco Vic based in Barcelona Spain. In fact for many years Santa Barbara Chocolate was a Choco Vic distributor.
The chocolate bon bon maker Arrese Pasteleria in Bilbao uses Choco Vic couverture. They have several outlets in the cosmopolitan city of Bilbao (home of the famous modern art Guggenheim Museum). Many of the Arrese truffles are foil wrapped molded domes. I tried the smaller square enrobed bon bons. A common characteristic of these chocolates is a heavier, thicker ganache with a bold flavor. When compared to French chocolates they are not as delicate but still very enjoyable. My favorite was the milk chocolate ganache flavored with cinnamon and enrobed in a semi sweet dark chocolate. I felt this bon bon captured the essence of Spanish chocolate.