La Flor Dominicana DL 700 and Clos de los Siete: Pairing

The Wine

Clos de los Siete

Clos de los Siete Winery

Mendoza, Argentina

By Michel Rolland

14.6% abv

$35.00 at A Matter of Taste Restaurant

Blend: 56% Malbec, 21% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Syrah, 2% Petit Verdot

I had a glass and a half at the restaurant and brought the rest home to sit back to do a review and then smoke a fine stogie with it. 

Appearance: deep dark garnet, this is pretty close to black with a purple edge.

Aroma: very dense dark currant note, smoky, it smells like the dark chocolate with berries in it, earthy – mineral soil like

Flavors: heavy soil earthy tone, dark berry concentrate, 90+% dark chocolate that covers the palate, bold and intense.

Mouthfeel: thick and very dry on the palate, tart, earthy, the dry finish reminds me of 95% dark chocolate, leathery texture, lingering aftertaste

You can feel this wine just clinging to your teeth and gums. 

My Strength Rating: 8.5 – this full bodied blend is hearty.  It deserves a big steak.  I think I’ll make plans for that one day.  

The Cigar

La Flor Dominicana DL 700

Double Ligero

Laflordominicana.com

A very good web site to visit

Wrapper: Dark Ecuadorian Sun Grown

Binder: Dominican

Filler: Dominican

Size: 6.5 x 60

$10.00 Smoky’s in Northville, Michigan

Their web site warns you to eat before smoking this cigar.

I have never had this cigar before so, I do not know what I am getting into here.  This cigar just looked good and oily and strong.  That is what this wine needs for a good pairing.   

This Sun Grown wrapper has a beautiful sheen to the tobacco leaf.  It looks rugged yet rich.  The vein is the tobacco leaf and the color is just like art work or one expensive leather sofa. 

Off the Light: Oh yes, this is a double ligeros.  Rich soil earthy tone with a bit of spice and I can tell this is just the beginning.  Of course I just lit the cigar.  No just the beginning of the spice. 

As the smoke continues the texture is leathery and the body weight on the full-medium side.  I am thinking 7.5 or 8 on my strength scale and I am just a half an inch into this baby.  I’ll bet it gets fuller from here! 

The spice seems to be in play more on the finish and aftertaste.  A medium coarse black peppercorn like quality.  The rich soil continues and there is a strong dark roast coffee note. 

Now, I could not pass the smoke through the sinuses so, is this cigar going to be that strong of is it that I tried to inhale the dipping bread that I had before dinner. 

Mid-Point: strong dark roast coffee, rich mineral soil, hardwood, and spice.  The cigar has a strong mouthfeel with a leathery texture and a lingering aftertaste.  The black pepper seems to build on the aftertaste.  I’ll go to 8.5 on my strength scale. 

The Pairing: I just introduced the wine as I entered the mid-point of the cigar.  Wow, this cigar makes this wine seem … medium bodied.  This is a full bodied wine and this cigar is controlling this wine.  This is like two heavy weights in battle. 

The earthy tones match up well.  The dark berries and dark chocolate of the wine pair up well with the dark roasted coffee and hardwood notes of the cigar.  This is a full bodied experience. 

Down the Stretch: Just when I thought the cigar was starting to mellow on the last few puffs … Wham … the spice kicked in.  The smoke is now an earthy coffee profile with some robust roasted notes and charred hardwood.  The body weight is heavy.  Let me call it a 9 on my strength scale. 

The Pairing: I needed a few sips of the wine to control the heavy smoke of the cigar.  This is a strong earthy pairing.  I recommend a glass, no gallon, of water to go along with this pairing. 

I had some burning issues where I had to continually correct the burn of the cigar.  Since this cigar has such an oily wrapper I recommend dry boxing the cigar a day or two before smoking. 

I have not done a cigar review in a month.  What a cigar to choose to get back in the swing of things. 

Gurkha Black Dragon Imperial Presidente and Franciscan Magnificat 2005 Red Wine: Review

The Cigar

Gurkha Black Dragon Imperial Presidente

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf maduro

Binder: Cameroon

Fillers: Dominican

Size: 7 x 52

My Strength Rating: 6

Source: gurkhacigars.com  I have seen other descriptions for the wrapper, binder, and fillers but, I’ll go with what the company/manufacturer says.

This cigar has a good earthy profile with some roasted mild coffee notes.  The very delicate sweet tobacco and slight spicy notes remind me of a mild pink peppercorn flavor.  There was a moment here or there where I thought maybe it had a pecan nut taste but, on the next puff – nope.  The texture is a bit leathery yet smooth.

The Wine

Franciscan Magnificat 2005

Napa Valley Red Wine

Franciscan

Oakville, California, USA

Franciscan.com

My Strength Rating: 7.5

14.5% abv

Blend: 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 2% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot, and 1% Franc

Aroma: rich dark berries, spice, and a touch of dark cocoa powder

Flavors: Blackberry bite, a squeeze of black cherry, 80% dark chocolate bite and dryness, spice.

Mouthfeel: dense and dry on the palate. There is a blackberry bite and green peppercorn on the aftertaste that seems to linger.  Overall very pleasing for a medium-full mouthfeel. 

The Pairing

These two are bringing out the deep rich flavors in each other. 

When I drink the wine first and then puff on the cigar the cigars earthy and coffee profile really seems thicker and heavier almost meaty like. 

When I puff on the cigar and then drink the wine the wines berry notes are note as noticeable but, the spice and the dry dark chocolate seem to stand out.  Maybe it is that coffee note in the cigar that eliminates the berry and cherry notes in the wine. 

One thing that I have noticed during this pairing is that the cigars spice profile seems to be more pronounced than when I have smoked it by itself. 

These two do feed off of one another to make a fuller bodied experience.  This is a very good after dinner treat.

Vega Talanga Reserva En Tercio Corojo Series and Double T 2006 Red Wine

The Wine

Double T 2006
Trefethen Family Vineyards
Napa, California, USA
TREFETHEN.com

Here is what they have on the bottle: “…Cabernet Sauvignon gives depth and structure: Merlot adds a lively spiciness, Cabernet Franc floral fruit, Petit Verdot intense color, and Malbec a silky softness.”

This is my last bottle of this wine. I bought a six pack a couple of years ago and I have to say I have always enjoyed this wine. This wine should be paired with game, steak, filet mignon, lamb, and other hearty fare. This wine is also deserving of a bold cigar as an after dinner treat.

Appearance: Deep purple body with deep ruby edges.

Aroma: Big berry, light spice; it is just terrific with each sip.

Flavors: Big bold dark berry profile; the blackberry and black currant notes are thick; good spice and earthy notes to fill the palate; the earthy notes to me seem to include a portabella mushroom and forest floor like quality. The dry soil just adds to the texture of this bold red wine. An undertone of floral comes into play; it is just a hint of violet. The dryness of the mouthfeel along with all these wonderful flavors mingle together and make me think of a rich 87% dark chocolate.

Mouthfeel: The feel is full bodied. The berry profile makes it a little jammy; the earthy qualities coats the tongue. There is a long aftertaste of these two on palate.

Tonight I am going to give this wine an 8 on My Strength Rating Scale. Big bold flavors, jammy mouthfeel, dry texture, earthy notes coat the palate for a long aftertaste.

Tonight I was rummaging through my humidor and I came across some cigars that I have not had in a long time. I don’t even know if these cigars are still on the market. I always liked these cigars. And, not only was it a good value cigar, it was just plain and simple a good cigar. I wish I had purchased more of them.

The Cigar

The cigar is Vega Talanga Reserva En Tercio Corojo Series. This cigar band has the brown label. This toro is a 6 x 60 big boy. The earthy, nutty, dry spice, and light pepper notes are always pleasing. The nutty note reminds me of walnut. The earthy notes to me come across like mushroom and hardwood. The light pepper has a musty white pepper like quality.

This cigar always burns perfectly, holds a solid gray ash, and I cannot remember ever having a bad one. I also think this cigar has gotten better with age.

This cigar should pair up well with this wine.

By the way don’t go out of your way looking for this cigar – I don’t think they make it anymore.

The Pairing

This is one terrific pairing. I love bold wines and bold cigars and this is it! Just look at the word profile of each of these and you will see why this is such a good pairing.