A Wine & Cigar Pairing: Trilogy Ovation Cameroon and Lyeth 2007 Meritage Sonoma County

The Cigar
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Mexico, Costa Rica, Nic.
Size: 5.25 x 54
My Strength Rating: 5
I have always liked this Cameroon cigar. So, when Cigars International was moving them out, I bought some. And now, I am finally down to my last three sticks. The wrapper on this cigar always looked rich. And, you know what; the taste is rich. I like the blend of the nice spice, nuts and cedar notes on the palate from this cigar.

The cigar starts off with a 4 strength rating on the first third of the smoke. The ash is a solid light gray.

The middle third of the cigar builds a little strength. The three notes of spice, nuts and cedar are still present. The cigar continues to hold a firm ash.

With the final third of the cigar, the intensity builds to a 5 or 5.5 strength rating. The spices are a little stronger maybe even a little pepper starts to play on the tongue. The nice nutty quality turns to a roasted nut quality and a toasted rye bread. The nice sweet cedar notes are turning to a burnt hardwood note. And, the smoke is warmer. Now, don’t be alarmed, these are not overwhelming flavors and the cigar does not get bitter either. As the cigar approaches the final inch it is only reaching a 5.5 or 6 strength rating to me.

The Wine
Lyeth (“Leeth”) is a value priced Meritage. I was out to dinner last night and had a Justin 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner. The music was so good that we decided to stay a little longer so I ordered another bottle of wine. Giulio’s had a special on this wine for the night, $30 a bottle (maybe $15 at a store), so let’s try it. I knew I was only going to have one glass but, I figured I would write a review today with the remainder of the bottle.

It has a nice deep ruby red appearance. The aromas are very light and clean for a red wine, which makes me worry about what I bought. This is not a big bold Meritage. It is, what it is, an inexpensive Meritage. Now, that is not a knock on this wine. I have had plenty of Meritage wines in this price range and many of them are to one dimensional in their profile.

Here is the skinny on this one: I personally think this is a very pleasant tasting red wine. If you are having a lot of guests over this would please most of the company. This would also be good as a before dinner wine or with a lighter meat or fuller fish dinners. I would drink this with my tomato bacon salmon dinner (of course grilled over charcoal – with a chunk of pecan wood for smoke) or with veal chops. The notes of the wine are light. There are light cherry and berry notes with some nice delicate spice. I think I have to give this Meritage a 4 strength rating. This is an very good wine for the casual wine drinker.

The Pairing
This is what I expected from this pairing. I knew from the one glass that I had last night that it was going to be a medium or mild-medium bodied wine and what should I pair up with a Meritage that is on the mild side of medium – a Cameroon wrapped cigar with a nice nutty profile. What I like most about this pairing is that the wine has this nice smoothness to the aftertaste and the cigar has a rich smoothness to its mouthfeel.