A Wine and Cigar Pairing: Kristoff Maduro Churchill Cigar and Bombing Range Red Wine

The cigar
Kristoff Maduro Toro
Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Fillers: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Size: 6.5 x 56
Made with ligero tobaccos
Description: medium-full, complex, dried cherries, coffee bean, cocoa bean, spice and sweet finish.

This cigar does have a nice complexity. I like the dark fruitiness with the coffee-cocoa flavor. The Brazilian maduro wrapper brings that nice sultry sweetness to play and then the fullness of the ligero tobaccos used adds that nice complexity. This cigar always burns perfectly for me. Look back at my posting, ‘The Hunted,’ for the long nice ash and rack picture.

If you are looking for a cigar to pair with a red wine this is the one. Just look at the description of this cigar – it looks like a wine description.

The Red Wine
Bombing Range Red 2006 – Horse Heaven Hills
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 8% Syrah, 4% Mourvedre
From their web site, http://www.mckinleysprings.com/, the description is – Raspberry and blueberry jam aromas with violet and cinnamon. The taste is rich blackberry, mocha and currant.

I love the look of this wine when it is in the glass. It is dense! (No, honey I am describing the wine) I hold it to the light and I cannot see through this puppy. So, I expect a fuller mouthfeel and some good complexity going on with this wine.

I purchased this wine from the Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan. Jim, the owner, gave me a sample when I stopped by to pick up some other wine and I ended up walking out with a case of the Bombing Range as well. Now, here is the best part – the price – it's under 20 bucks.

Now, to me this wine has a great jammy feel to the palate. Those berries are just wonderful. The blackberry and blueberry profile is upfront along with the black currant. It is like you could spread this across your toast in the morning. The mocha profile to me is more on the aftertaste. Honestly, with every sip I think, ‘life is good,’ I love the berry taste. I don’t notice much in the spice profile but, that is okay because I really like the thick berry profile coating my palate. The complexity is not great but, very good in the berry category.

The Pairing

This is a wonderful pairing. The dark fruit and coffee-cocoa profile of the cigar matches up well with the jammy berry profile of the red wine. Wine and Cigars – what a treat! The two work so well together. As the pairing moves along the earthy style of each fills the palate. Both of these are in that medium-full bodied range and both coat the palate with such wonderful flavors. Just have a glass of water to go along with this pairing because, as I stated, they do coat the palate and the water will refresh your taste buds for some more of those wonderful flavors.