Hemingway Work of Art and Barbera D’Asti Tre Vigne 2007: Pairing

A Tale of Two Cigars and a Bottle of Wine

The Wine

Barbera D’Asti Tre Vigne 2007

Bottled by: Vietti

100% Barbera grapes

Asti, Piedmont, Italy

14.5% abv

Vietti.com

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

Hemingway Work of Art

I have had this cigar in my humidor for a few years now and today is the day to review it.  And, I am going to review it with a fine bottle of wine.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro

Binder/Filler: Dominican

Size: 4.78 x 60 figurado

The length looks like 4.25 to me

Off the Light: ooooh, tasty sweet maduro right off the light.  A latte like coffee tone plays with a marble bread likeness.  The texture is smooth and elegant, like a Hemingway is supposed to be. 

As the smoke continues the latte likeness turns to coffee with cream so, it is not as sweet as the first inch.  The cigar has a mild spicebox note along with dark bread and an easy-going forest floor likeness. 

The Pairing: this is a tasty pairing.  I like this pairing much better than the La Aurora Maduro.  I think it is that touch of Maduro sweetness that does the trick.  The Hemingway does not have that dry style that the La Aurora has. 

This Hemingway cigar just brings out all the tasty berries and that touch of vanilla-oak in the wine. 

The aftertaste from this pairing is sweet berry like.  I just don’t ever remember an aftertaste like this during a wine and cigar pairing. 

This cigar just begs me to sit back and relax with this bottle of wine.  This would be a perfect after dinner pairing.  

Second Half: more of the same.  Coffee, mild spicebox, dark bread and an easy-going forest floor likeness. 

My Strength Rating: 4.5 – a very good medium body cigar.

To the Point: typical Hemingway style of elegance.  This cigar is perfect for special moments. 

Click here to see the La Aurora Cigar Pairing



Fuente Hemingway Work of Art and Troubadour Obscura Mild Stout: Review

This Mild Stout needs a classy buddy and this is it, the Cameroon wrapped Work of Art, a small 4.7 x 60 perfecto. I have always described the Hemingway line as an elegant smoke. A wonderful cedar and almond like nutty flavor. This cigar gives you a clean smoking experience, what I mean is that it does not coat the palate with all kinds of heavy spice, bitter chocolate or other notes that the bold fuller flavored cigars offer. Now, I love my medium-full to full cigars but, it sure is nice to have a break and pull out a true cigar classic like a Hemingway to delight the palate.

I experimented earlier today pairing this mild stout with a full bodied cigar. The stout did mellow the black pepper and spirited spices of the cigar but, the cigar did nothing to enhance the experience of the stout. The stout was missing its nice flavor profile because of the cigar.

Focusing on the flavor profile of the stout, I experience a nice creamy roasted malt character along with some mild coffee and dark fruitiness undertones when drinking this mild stout. Oh yes, there is a nice bitterness as well. I thought the fuller cigar would possibly bring those notes up and it did not. So, I am going for an RBI here (almost baseball season) by selecting the Work of Art.

The Pairing
This time I am focusing on the word description, of the mild stout, that I wrote on that earlier posting – smooth, smooth and smooth. The Hemingway is also, smooth. These two are working well together. It is one of those pairings were they let each other do their job. I am enjoying that great cedar flavor that the Hemingway’s deliver. And, my palate is clean and prepared for the wonderful mild flavors of the Troubadour Obscura. This is a winner. I am going to plan to have this with dinner some time soon. I think I might do it up with lamb chops?