The Wine
Zen of Zin 2008
Old Vine Zinfandel
Ravenswood
Sonoma, California, USA
13.5% abv
Blend of: petite sirah, syrah, and carignane added
Appearance: deep purple body with purple highlights
Aroma: mulberry, slightly inky, black licorice,
Flavors: dark berries, mild toffee flavored coffee with cream, thick earthy tone, little milk chocolate like, oak,
Mouthfeel: fairly smooth, blackberry like bite on the back of the palate, lingering berry and earth notes.
As the wine opens up I think the aroma becomes a little sweeter and the taste a little juicier.
My Strength Rating: 5.5 – the berries and the earthy tones help to give it a good medium body
To the Point: a pretty decent Zinfandel and worthy to purchase a bottle to give it a try. For under 15 bucks you can’t go wrong.
The Cigar
La Gloria Cubana Serie R No. 5 Maduro
Wrapper: Ecuadoran Grown Maduro
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
(as it states on the tin)
Size: 5 ½ x 54
My Strength Rating: 6
This is one smooth and rich tasting cigar. I have always enjoyed the Serie R line-up from La Gloria. The key to a tasty cigar with this maduro is to get a jet black stick and not the ruddy blackish-brown stick. Back when I use to buy these by the box I would have the tobacconist open the box up before I would purchase the box to make sure I was buying the jet black ones.
Now, this is not a complex cigar. This cigar has a very rich and tasty earthy-coffee style. The earthiness is like the rich soil that the plants are grown in. The coffee is a rich espresso style. On the second half of the smoke there is a green peppery spice that builds to add some character. The earthy style becomes thicker as you near the end of the cigar.
Wrapper: Ecuadoran Grown Maduro
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
(as it states on the tin)
Size: 5 ½ x 54
My Strength Rating: 6
This is one smooth and rich tasting cigar. I have always enjoyed the Serie R line-up from La Gloria. The key to a tasty cigar with this maduro is to get a jet black stick and not the ruddy blackish-brown stick. Back when I use to buy these by the box I would have the tobacconist open the box up before I would purchase the box to make sure I was buying the jet black ones.
Now, this is not a complex cigar. This cigar has a very rich and tasty earthy-coffee style. The earthiness is like the rich soil that the plants are grown in. The coffee is a rich espresso style. On the second half of the smoke there is a green peppery spice that builds to add some character. The earthy style becomes thicker as you near the end of the cigar.
One thing about the Serie R 5 is that it does burn a little warmer then the 6 and 7. While the taste profile is similar to the 6 I personally don't think they are as crisp.
The Pairing
This cigar is good for this wine. The cigar has a fuller coffee style than the wine and since I like coffee I find that this cigar adds some body to the wine.
The cigar also has a good earthy style and this Zen has a nice earthy style as well. I think the earthy notes are pretty similar to one another.
The cigar does cover up the toffee and milk chocolate notes of the wine. Once again, that is okay to me for I am not a fan of milk chocolate.
This pairing is all about the earthy – coffee notes. A good after dinner pairing.
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