Favorite French chocolatier?

Since I can't make the Hot Chocolate happy hour tonight, I've decided to hold an impromptu chocolate tasting at my desk, sampling from my stash. I've been saving a Bernard Castelain milk bar in my office refrigerator, which I thought Wine Spectator a few months ago had rated as one of the better milk bars out there. It seemed like a good value from the high end bars at Fox and Obel, $4.99 for 100g, but I'm puzzled--I don't detect anything special in this bar at all. What am I missing, any Castelain followers out there? I love everything I've had from Michel Cluizel, but his stuff is harder to get in Chicago--I've only gotten it by mail or in NY.

You can get Cluizel chocolate at Hannah's Bretzel on Washington, and also at Binny's.

I'm assuming you're looking mostly for bars. Bonnat are quite good, though more expensive than Cluizel:

http://www.bonnat-chocolatier.com/

They used to have them at Hannah's, but no longer. You can always order online from http://www.worldwidechocolate.com or http://www.chocosphere.com.

Hannah's does carry a small selection of Pralus bars which are excellent.

Those would be my two favorite widely available French chocolatiers.

I am, however, more a fan of Italian chocolates. As a general rule, though particulars may vary, there seems to be more retraint with sweetness and less emphasis on creaminess in texture. These impressions aren't easily captured in the percentage cacao, a number which as taken on a Robert Parker-esque significance. Anyway, I highly recommend you seek out Amadei, Domori, Guido Gobino, and Venchi chocolates. For a truly unique experience, seek out Domori's 100% bars or their "Kashaya" whole roasted cacao beans. The Apurimac is a rather wild experience, with a pronounced sourness that's almost tamarind-like and floral. These are available at the sites listed above.

rien

Bernachon's is without the best French Chocolatier and probably the best in the world but you will have to fax your order and FedEx! -Dick