The Wine
Cigar Box Reserve Malbec 2009
14% abv
Argentina
Cigarboxwine.com – and they have a picture of their wine with a cigar! I am surprised that people did not complain of second hand smoke!!! I also like the Dean Martin music.
It has been a summer of great beers (some not so great) and I just reviewed a bunch of white wines so, I am ready for my old favorite … red wine. As a matter of fact I reviewed this wine on the WinePostings blog back at the beginning of the year, January 12th, 2011. I enjoyed it then; I hope I enjoy it today.
A beautiful 70 degree day here in the Tip of the Thumb of Michigan. Perfect to do a red wine review.
This bottle made an eight hour drive yesterday and sat on the kitchen counter last night, so it is not just coming out of the cellar and it feels like it is room temperature. (Little warmer than how I would like it) Let’s see how it reviews.
Appearance: with just a little in the glass the wine has a nice rich ruby color
Aroma: nice spice on the nose, with a touch of violet and big moist dark berries.
Flavors: bold black berry, currants and a firm tart cherry bite with a swirl of dark chocolate. There seems to be a toasted oak note and a nice mineral earthiness to this wine.
Mouthfeel: very thick, almost jammy, flavorful, lingering tart berries,
My Strength Rating: 6/6.5 – during this pairing
This wine would be great with a piece of 70 – 80% dark chocolate. You know what … I going to get a piece before I light my cigar. That is a piece of dark chocolate.
I fetched myself a piece of Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie 86% Cacao. Oh yeah, that did the trick. While I am enjoying this moment I think I’ll check my wine posting from January to see any differences.
Alright I am ready to pair this Malbec with my cigar.
The Cigar
Blend Lab ZB-652
Cigars International Blend Lab
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Dominican ligero, Dominican Pilato Cubano
Size: 6 x 52 torpedo
Yesterday it took me eight hours to make a three hour journey and I had a lot of fun doing it. Part of the fun was that I sampled two CI Blend Lab cigars along the way. This was one of them and the cigar yesterday had some issues dealing with construction. (see pictures) But, I did enjoy the taste. So, let’s review this cigar today and pair it with a tasty Malbec red wine called Cigar Box. CI recommends this cigar to be paired with a bold red wine and from what I can remember from yesterday … I think that is a good suggestion.
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| Nothing worst than a crack in the butt |
Off the Light: nice toasted wood and earth notes. As the smoke continues the toasted hardwood is pleasing and the rich soil like earthy tones are tasty. There is a soft peppery spice that floats along the smoking experience. This is a nice medium body smoke at best. I’ll give a 4.5 on my strength scale at this point.
The Pairing: These two work well together. While I am enjoying this experience all still get all the flavors of these two products. The only difference that I can talk about is that the cigar seems to pick up a dark chocolate like character during this pairing.
Mid-Point: I am going to have to add that dark chocolate note that I just mentioned. The toasted hardwood quality and rich soil earthy tones are still tasty. Not the most complex cigar but, that is a good thing sometimes.
The Pairing: there is a toasted oak and roasted vanilla note showing up in the wine during the last few exchanges. The earthy tones are mixing well together and think this is the main profile during this pairing.
Down the Stretch: the smoke is smooth and medium bodied. There is still a soft spicy character intermingled with the toasted hardwood, earthy tones and I am staying with that dark chocolate note during this pairing.
The Pairing: I am enjoying that touch of roasted vanilla from the wine. The dark berry and tart cherry notes are mingling well with the hardwood and earthy tones of the cigar. Let’s not forget about the tasty dark chocolate and earthy tones of the wine. This has been a very good pairing today.
I enjoyed the last two inches of the cigar with some of that Ghirardelli 86% dark cacao and the wine. Wow, what a treat. I need to enjoy more dark chocolate with a cigar.
My Strength Rating of the cigar: 5 – during this pairing.
Just in time to fix a Filet Mignon for dinner. Just wish I had someone to share it with … oh, I do ME.
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