A Tale of Two Cigars and a Bottle of Wine
Barbera D’Asti Tre Vigne 2007
Bottled by: Vietti
100% Barbera grapes
Asti, Piedmont, Italy
14.5% abv
First taster-glass poured after opening:
Aroma: mixed berries with the focus on red
Flavors: a mix of dark berries and some red berries peeking through, black licorice,
Mouthfeel: smooth, on the light side of medium, lingering berries
Decanted Wine: (20 minutes)
Appearance: deep purple with a ruby edge.
Aroma: black berry like with a tart cherry, a slight inky and dark soil tone.
After a good walk around the block with the dogs I comeback to a change on the nose. I am not picking up that tart cherry and slight inky tone. Wow, I liked it before now, it is just yummy to smell. It is like smelling a bowl full of blackberries and dark currants mixed with some red currants, red cherries, and a few raspberries; to me there is a delicate earthy minerality with a nice touch of oak.
Flavors: the taste is following the nose; tasty dark berries and red cherries and that slight inky note has followed as well. I like the black licorice that is swirling around the other notes.
After that walk with the dogs the flavors are even better. Decant this wine for a good hour is what I take from this adventure. That slight inky note is gone; the dark berries are juicy with blackberry and black currant leading the way, a touch of tart red cherry is adding some character, and there are some sweet red berries that are spinning lightly underneath. I think the vanilla-oak is now coming through after some real good breathing time.
Mouthfeel: smooth, silky like, moderately coats the palate with berries, a firm medium body style. While the aftertaste is moderate it is berry-tasty. The tannins and acidity are well under control at this time.
To the Point: a great time to drink this wine; remember decant for 45 minutes to an hour. I wish I had more of this wine.
My Strength Rating: 5.5 – medium body
The Cigar
La Aurora Preferidos #2 Maduro
I have always enjoyed this line by La Aurora and the Cameroon wrapped stick was always my favorite. I have not had any of the Preferidos in a long, long time. So, when I had the offer of 10 #2 Maduros for 50 bucks – I was all over it. Let’s see how it reviews.
Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Fillers: Dominican, Cameroon, Brazil
Size: 5 x 54 Perfecto
Off the Light: light forest floor with a focus on dry leafs. As the smoke continues there is a dry wheat toast style that mingles with the forest floor tones. And eventually a dry mild coffee tone develops.
There is a firm and tight gray ash and the burn is good so far. I remember back in the day we would try to make this a two ash smoke.
The mouthfeel is relatively smooth yet dry on the palate – one might call it smooth leather. I never found these to be complex in any way. It seems to be a rather stylish smoke. The body weight is not overpowering and the look of the cigar has – well – let’s call it – style. This cigar would pair well with a Pinot Noir, Baco Noir or maybe even a Merlot. It could even be paired with a fuller bodied white. For beers – I could see Nut Browns, Brown Ales, or a Belgian Dubbel. As for an IPA – I think the mouthfeel may be too dry to pair with that.
For the first half I’ll give it a 4 on my strength scale – just under medium.
Second Half: toasted forest floor, the dry leafs and twigs (wood tones) are in the mix, the dry mild coffee is still present; I hate to say that it is more robust so, I’ll say the style is toastier.
The Pairing
This cigar is not doing much for me with this pairing. I think it is that dry style of the cigar that just does not add any interest. The cigar does not detract from the wine for the wines flavors still come through loud and clear. It must be the forest floor tones and the mild coffee of the cigar that keeps my interest with this wine. This wine needs a better pairing.
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