The Wine
The Hattrick 2005 Reserve Merlot
Igor Larionov Select Wines
Stags Leap District
Napa Valley
14.5% abv
$45.00
The cork reads, “Hockey is my life – wine is my passion”
On the back of the bottle, “The Merlot with a splash of Cabernet Franc Exhibits a deep ruby – garnet color as well as dense, smoky black cherry flavors, medium to full body, soft tannins and plump finish.”
Appearance: deep ruby it is
Aroma: smoky, dark berries, touch of oak
Flavors: earthy notes of rich soil and minerals, toasted oak, tobacco, black currants, I am not thinking of black cherry (sweet) it is more like a Michigan cherry (tart) especially on the finish,
Mouthfeel: smooth in delivery, a slight tartness on the back of the palate, a dry oaky note and dark berry like lingering note
My Strength Rating: 7 a very good medium-full bodied red wine.
The Cigar
Gran Habano Imperiales #5
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder: Costa Rica
Fillers: Costa Rica and Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 60
The box is marked 2008
And this is my last stick of this size
Off the Light: sea salt, coarse black peppercorns, rich forest floor earthy tones
Mid-point: The tasting notes from the first third continue. They seemed to mellow a little and then they picked back up as I entered into the mid-point. I am picking up a toasted oak note late in the mid-point. This is a very good strong stick. At this point I would have to say my strength rating would be an 8.
Down the Stretch: The salty taste faded finally, the black peppercorn seemed more like a fine grind rather than a coarse peppery taste, the earthy notes seemed scorched along with some dark roasted coffee notes along with some toasted oak. I may be picking up some of the oak taste from the wine. But, I like it anyways.
My Strength Rating: 8 overall. Solid black peppery notes throughout, with a firm oaky presence on the second half of the cigar and a tasty earthy tone is mingled in to add some interest.
The Pairing
Wow, my first few sips were a collision in flavor profiles. The spicy profile of the cigar transferred to the wine. That was a zesty, tazangy, tantalizing twister on my tongue. The flavors that collided came from the sea salt and black pepper like notes of the cigar crashing with the tart cherry and oaky like notes of the wine.
The next few sips calmed down a little but, that is not saying much. Well, it was mostly zippy on the back of the tongue. Let’s do a little water here and see what happens.
Wine first and the flavor profile is back in order. Couple puffs of the cigar and that seems okay. Now, back to the wine. Yep, the wine has a little zip to it when I smoke the cigar first and then go to the wine. Time for more water.
The flavors of the wine are starting to adjust here with each exchange. The tasty berry like flavors and rich soil earthy notes are coming back with each sip of the wine.
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