The Wine
Peninsula Cellars 2010 Cabernet Franc
Peninsula Cellars
Old Mission Peninsula
Hog’s Back Vineyard & Ligon Vineyard
$25.00
13% abv
Appearance: a pretty crimson body with a ruby edge
Aroma just after opening: reminds me walking into a wine
room at a winery; nice aromatic berry bowl and a touch of spice
Aroma after allowed to breathe: blackberry, black plum,
black currant with a nice touch of spice.
The dark berry notes seemed to be a little more discernible after the
wine opened up.
Flavors: boysenberry, raspberry, currant, hint of earth, as
the wine opens a slight tart cranberry with a touch of toasted oak, light spice
probably coming from the oak, flavors come together well
Mouthfeel: mixed berries on the delivery and mid; light
spice on mid and finish; smooth – they use the word elegant on the bottle to
describe the mouthfeel;
My Strength Rating: 6 – just limping into the medium-full
range
To the Point: I like this Franc
The Cigar
Perdomo ESV Robusto Natural
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Fillers: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 54
I smoked this cigar at the Perdomo preview at Smoky’s of
Northville and it was full bodied on the first half and seemed to mellow a bit
on the second half. Let’s see how it
reviews today.
Off the Light: nice strong cedary spice right off the bat –
it had me sneezing. Underneath that
powerhouse cedary style there are some earthy tones that remind me of dry fall
leafs, mushroom and moss. This cigar
emits tons of gray smoke. The cedar
spice calms down a little and now the spice reminds me of white and green peppercorn
mix.
The Pairing: now this is a good pairing. I paired this wine with that Bad Ass Cigar
which was bad – I’m glad I had this cigar selected to do with the second half
of this bottle. The strong spicy style
of the cigar is a nice contrast with this smooth and elegant Cab Franc from
Peninsula Cellars. The cigar seems to
bring out the oak spice in the wine and the soil like earthy tone. This is a good example of what a fine cigar
matched with the right wine can be … a quality experience.
Second Half: as the burn entered the second half the spice
really subsided. Toasted grains, dry
leafs, cedar, and dry soil. Boy is that
first half a man’s cigar. The first half
is not made for the faint of heart. The
smoke from this cigar is just amazing.
The mouthfeel changes from the steel wool like texture on the first half
to a semi-smooth wool like feel.
The Pairing: the dark berries of the wine just seem to
transfer to the cigar for a pleasing experience. This is a very good medium-full
matching. The cedar from the cigar
mingles with the toasted oak from the wine.
The wine seems to bring out a semi-creamy feel in the cigar. This is just one fine pairing.
What a difference in a beverage and cigar pairing – from the
Bad Ass Cigar to this Perdomo SEV Natural.
The Bad Ass cigar did not add anything to the tasting experience and the
Perdomo is just pure bliss to this cigar fan.
To the Point: I like
this. Perdomo is back on my radar. I’ll be buying a few more of these.
