saying hello to the 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserves again

Top: 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay | VQA Niagara Peninsula

Bottom: 2006 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir | VQA Niagara Peninsula

Delayed satisfaction.

If there's anything you need to know about true winos, it's that we find pleasure in delaying pleasure, in delaying satisfaction. We insist on putting wines away until they're ready, until they're mature - whatever that means. And while that whole practice reeks of snobbery and idiocy to the less invested drinker, there's deep meaning in it, if only you give it a chance and open your mind to something out of the ordinary. 

We know the statistics. The VAST majority of North American wine drinkers open a bottle within hours of buying it. They keep, what, no more than 5-6 bottles of wine in the cupboard at a time? Being typical is perfectly fine, but at least try to understand where us winos are coming from when we say that that bottle of Bordeaux will be more interesting, be more expressive in 5 years.

Time and place.

Everything has its time and place. Including wine. So when we put wines away, we are actually suggesting that the wine will dictate when its ready to drink. Sure, it's wonderfully democratic to insist that wine is at its best when you feel like drinking it, but that's the ego speaking. And when you put your ego in your pocket, when you listen - and I mean really listen - maybe you'll hear something inspired. So when we taste a young red wine that's tannic and coarse, we (winos) try not to rush to judgement. With experience, we come to understand that wines that are rough and crass in their youth mature to something entirely elegant and fine - if we are patient. In other words, we let the child grow to an appropriate age, before we decide its character.

I love Le Clos Jordanne. Drink enough of something, and you start learning to recognize the style. It's a transparency they search for, in aroma and texture. A wonderful, bright expression of fruit and earth, of minerality and acidity. The 2006's, while certainly not blockbusters, show the purity and innocence of young vines. Nothing transcendent, but the promise and potential of the fruit they are producing is obvious. Drunk with our surf and turf dinner, after being in the cellar for 5 years.

The chardonnay, all bright citrus and minerality. Becoming richer on the palate - perfectly integrated oak. Lean, but showing the precision and focus that the Niagara Escarpment can produce. The pinot noir, actually drinking fairly young. Both wines, in fact, showing a lot of energy. Dried fruit, underbrush, that stemmy Niagara fruit - its pleasure is derived from its purity. 

Delaying satisfaction, until the appropriate time and place. Unless we're talking about cigars. Because it's always perfectly fine to light one up. H. Upmann's, hand-rolled Cuban cigars that are simply perfume and elegance. Fabulous draw, great flavour and length.

Dinner last night with some old friends, my last with them before I leave. At a great, stately Chinese restaurant - lobster, bass, and free range chicken, among other things. A 2006 Louis Roederer and a premier cru Chablis to drink. This is all becoming very real now, these goodbyes. And its becoming obvious to me that I have to make things right with someone before I leave. I can't have that as the last image she has of me.

DF

Guantanamera Habana

How do you milk even more out of a song that really has lost of all its original meaning? By putting it on a cigar of course. It's a nice smoke; simple, but nice. Just make sure your fingers are clamping down over the label.

DF

The Cuban blend

I'm (somewhat) an adult so I can do stuff like this without having to be sneaky. My local tobacco shop sells these cigars that are actually their own blends, made in Cuba for them. Wrapped to the store owner's tastes I suppose. A torpedo, this is quite dark. Very strong, with a nice draw. Round smoke, but I feel like this would knock me out if I tried to finish it in one go.

Getting back into it, getting back into it. The hot weather is giving me more opportunities to sit outside and enjoy a smoke. It's going to take a while though - the nicotine still gets to me if I'm not careful. More to come, smoking my way through the man shop's Cuban selection!

DF

Up in smoke

Ugh. Look at that ridiculous hair.

I find it outrageous that my cousin has been smoking cigarettes with his friends. And as for myself, well, this. I'm full of shit, but at least I don't pretend to be anyone's moral compass. You know what upsets me? When people smoke to get attention but really have no clue how to handle a cigar, making all the rest of us look like jackasses by association. Yeah, you're such a playboy, bragging about sucking on a $100 stick - get a grip.

It's all supposed to be a ritual, really. A private, contemplative ritual of cutting, lighting, and drawing out the essence of the smoke. We were sitting in the Jardin du Luxembourg and everyone was smoking something. The French apparently love pipes and hand-rolled cigarettes. So I had to fit in. My mother's banned me from showing this photo to anyone in my family. So naturally I'm sharing it here.

DF

Los cigarros!

I think we're ready to go. This should occupy me for 2 weeks nicely, no?

DF

Villager Cigar

Villager Premium Tubo

I bought this cigar, of all places, when I was in Nice. December 2007. I had wanted a cigar at the time, and they came in a pack of 2. Finished one, and here we are. Also, I discovered that D90 shoots directly in B/W. I think I'm gonna play around with this for a bit - be prepared not to see any colour for a while.

This cigar was inexpensive because among other things, only the centre is Cuban tobacco. The wrapper is another type. But, a cigar is a cigar - let's be honest, just being able to smoke one is a treat.

Starts nicely, but soon shows its lacklustre pedigree. Ash breaks off, and burns unevenly. At least it's not as harsh as I had feared. Pairing it with brandy made it better, as you can read about later. Towards the end, the cigar begins getting more oily, the smoke is just a bit sharper, and I stopped smoking at about 1.5 inches.

DF

In a haze

I like cigars, it's about time I indulged. Romeo y Julieta, Romeo No. 3. I have no idea where I got this from, but I want to smoke it. Storage has been mediocre, it's pretty dry. Lights up evenly, draws smoothly. A whiff of richness develops, quickly enveloping the room.

The wankers who suck on these things like cigarettes? Posers. A true cigar smoker demands quiet contemplation and patience......a beautiful, uninterrupted moment. Parallel to a few other things, no?

DF

Cigarillo

Smoking cigarillos with a glass of Chianti Classico actually works. You just have to keep puffing, because the damn thing's gone out at least 5 times already. No romancing the stick.

Romeo y Julieta Habana

Romeo y Julieta Edicion Limitada (2009)

A very generous friend brought these out for boy's night. Smoking isn't exactly a mentionable hobby, but I excuse myself on the basis that I smoke less than 3 times a year. And I don't touch cigarettes. Anymore. There's nothing that makes you feel so manly as sucking on a smoking stick of stinking tobacco. Even though you end up smelling disgusting and girls find you totally unappealing.

I don't like to cut a lot off the tip of the cigar - certainly, you should take care not to damage the cap. Nothing sucks like an unraveling wrapper as you, well, suck on the cigar. So, about a 2mm cut. Slowly lit, this cigar starts quite easily. Maybe it was due to the fact that it was quite dry. Very subtle smoke at first. Develops some richness, some fig-like aromas. A friend noted chocolate. Maybe. Draws quite nicely, no harshness at all. Burns quite evenly as well, with an acceptable level of ash. Becomes sharp and bitter about 3/4 of the way through.

A nice smoke. Maybe could have benefited from more humid storage, but in any case, a good smoke. Cigars are just as much about the experience of smoking as they are about taste, and this was very enjoyable.

Many thanks to our friend for a great time. Apologies for the awful photos, but I need to include photos of myself puffing away. This looks bad, but we weren't smoking in the parking lot like high school punks sneaking a puff. At this point, it was about 3am and we were gently ushered out of the patio we were sitting in. We smoked for about an hour, so I don't blame them for wanting to close up.