Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto I pairing. Die Wonderdraai 2021 Lowerland white wine and Baleia Tempranillo 2018 red.

The odd-shaped cigar feels different in your hand. It's robust. The reddish colorado claro wrapper shines in the sun as you move your hand to light the foot. There is something royal about a racing green coloured band. The Hexagon cigar smokes rich with creamy caramel flavours. Each puff delivers voluminous smoke.

A modern approach to Old World methods

The Plasencia brand launched in 2017. But the Plascencia origins began more than 150 years earlier. In 1865 Don Eduardo Plasencia moved to Vuelta Abajo, Cuba, to work in the tobacco fields. After 33 years, Sixto Plasencia Juares opened the family's first tobacco farm in 1898. Sixto was Don Eduardo's nephew.

Fleeing Castro's regime, Don Sixto and his family relocated to Nicaragua. But, political turmoil disrupted them again. They finally settled in Honduras and continued growing tobacco with great success. He became an outstanding producer for other cigar manufacturers. Growing tobacco for 33 million cigars a year by 1990. By 2000, Thrity different cigar brands used Plasencia tobacco.

Plasencia became the world's largest tobacco grower.Theyproduced more than 40 million cigars a year by 2015.

Millions of people worldwide enjoyed Plasencia cigars.

The family decided it was finally time to start their own story. In 2017, Plasencia Cigars was born, bringing over a century of tobacco experience to a new era of cigars.

Plasencia Alma Fuerte

Plasencia make the Alma Fuerte Colorado Claro Sixto I Hexagon in Nicaragua. The cigar has a six-sided shape that resembles a honeycomb.

The Sixto I is a premium Nicaraguan cigar with a unique 10-year-old Colorado Claro wrapper.

The Alma Fuerte collection is the top range of the Plasencia cigar portfolio. The medium-bodied cigars feature Plasencia's best-aged tobaccos. A medium smooth flavour profile makes the Alma Fuerte collection incredible. It is a perfect cigar for first-time and connoisseur cigars smokers.

ALMA FUERTE

Plasencia, Sr. and Jr. and five blenders created the cigar range from Nicaraguan tobaccos. The blend focuses on the family's Criollo '98 seed. The blend includes tobaccos from Nicaragua, Condega, Estelí, Jalapa, and Ometepe regions. Plasencia uses their rarest and most premium-grade leaves for the Alma Fuerte range.

The Sixto I is a luxurious smoke without the full intensity of the Sixto II. The Sixto I has creamy caramel flavours compared to the Sixto II espresso boldness.

Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto I Cigar

Country of Origin: Nicaragua

Factory: Plasencia Cigars S.A.

Wrapper: Nicaragua (Colorado Claro)

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 6 Inches

Ring Gauge: 60

Size Gordo

Sixto I Cigar Dry Aroma

The cigar aromas are spicy and creamy. Hints of creamy caramel release from the foot and wrapper.

Sixto I Cigar Dry Draw

The dry draw from a v-cutter is creamy with caramel and light citrus tastes. The draw is light with a bit of cocoa from the dry tobacco.

First Puff

The first puff releases big smoke volume, balancing creamy caramel and barbecue flavours. The spice mellows into a smooth and creamy smoke.

It is a cigar with a royal feel and smokes luxurious.

As the cigar evolves, caramel and cinnamon flavours blend with oak notes. The aroma from the wrapper and foot is a combination of orange cinnamon, black pepper and cloves. The cigar smells spicy and toasty.

The cigar produces copious and dense smoke. Construction-wise, both the burn and the draw are excellent. The strength starts light evolving into a medium body cigar.

Honey notes with black pepper spice emerge from each puff.

Cigar Evolution

The rich smoking experience is never overpowering or intimidating. It is a super smooth smoking cigar. The hints of pepper spice and caramel grow more robust as your cigar evolves. The medium body strength cigar delivers full flavours without being strong.

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Die Wonderdraai 2021 Lowerland white wine

Lowerland is a restored family farm on the banks of the Orange River. The farm lies between Prieska and Niekerkshoop in the expansive Northern Cape. The landscape is spectacular.

The family produce an assortment of delicious and nourishing foods. In Afrikaans, "Lowerland" means land of lush greenery.

Lowerland

The farm lies beneath a hill and lowers towards the riverbanks.

The farming philosophy is a hands-off approach to the certified organic vineyards. Some cow manure, gypsum and mulch feed the soil.

The high altitude desert climate creates a unique terroir for grapes. The farm is one thousand metres above sea level, with hot days and cool nights. A desert climate is ideal for producing complex fruit and fresh, natural acidity.

Wine

Loweland specializes in small batches of alternative varietals. The winemaker promotes old-world winemaking techniques. They use natural fermentation, whole bunch fermentation and basket pressing. Some of the wines have gentle maturation in aged French oak.

Lowerland History

The farm first planted vines in 1999 as a passion project. They grow small blocks of vines.

Red wines

Cabernet,

Merlot,

Shiraz,

Petit Verdot,

and Tannat

White wines

Viognier and colombard.

They also started producing small batches of Bordeaux and Rhône style blends in 2006.

In 2015, the farm registered Prieska as a wine-producing region. The certification helped to support a new era of Northern Cape wines.

Die Wonderdraai 2021

Winemaker: Lukas van Loggerengberg

Bottles: 6550

Blend: Colombard (63%); Chenin Blanc (21%); Viognier (16%)

Age of vines: 21years

Alcohol (%/vol): 12.99

Vinification:

The Chenin Blanc is from the neighbouring farm, Remhoogte. The Chenin vines overlook the river from the opposite bank of the Colombard vines. The grapes ferment in old French oak barrels and stay on the lees for five months before blending.

Colombard Grape Varietal

South Africa is the top producer of Colombard grapes. The grape blends into many semi-sweet wines.

Colombard has a neutral flavour. The grape is light-bodied with low tannins blending well with Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc.

Colombard tastes include sweet melon, peach, and almonds. The sweetness is also tasty with barbecue meat and cheese. But ideal with sushi and seafood.

Die Wonderdraai 2021 Scents

The wine has fresh scents of waxy honeycomb. Aromas of figs, grapefruit and woody oak are present.

Die Wonderdraai 2021 Taste

The white wine is full flavoured with light acidity and a waxy mouthfeel. The wine tastes fuller because of the Colomard grapes. There are hints of spicy honey aftertastes. Warmer wine in your glass release more citrus.

The wine has incredible fruit concentration. It has a light yellow colour with honey flavours and a fresh finish. It is a very drinkable white wine suited for any occasion.

The Colombard and Chenin blanc blend is a waxy, honey flavoured white blend.

Baleia Tempranillo 2018

Baleia wines are a stone's throw from St Sebastian Bay. It is a famous whale nursery in South Africa. The Joubert family's inspiration originates from the Mediterranean. The vines grow eight kilometres from the Ocean near a small village. The village, Vermaaklikheid, is on the South Coast of South Africa.

WINEMAKER'S PHILOSOPHY

Baleia's goal is to create quality wines reflective of the terroir. They produce wines with purity, complexity and focus. The winemaker focuses on balancing freshness, body, and bright acidity.

The wines age through a conservative maturation process. Baleia wine use Terracotta Amphora, French oak barrels and large format Foudre casks.

The red wine is expressive. The Spanish Tempranillo has a bouquet of black currant and dark cherries. The wine has hints of sweet spice that linger on your palate. The minerality in Baleia's wines expresses the natural salts present in the soils.

13.5% Alcohol

Tempranillo red wine Character

The most prominent flavours in a bottle of Tempranillo are earthy and fruity. The most prominent flavour is cherries. You can expect to taste some tobacco and cloves spice. Other fruit flavours include figs and even tomatoes.

Tempranillo Food Pairing

Thanks to its strong earthy and savoury notes, Tempranillo is an easy wine to pair with food. The wine is delicious with grilled meats, vegetables, and smoked foods. Mexican food like tacos, nachos, burritos, and chilli pair well with Tempranillo.

Baleia Tempranillo 2018 Aroma

The red wine releases immediate spice and cherries. There are subtle clove spice aromas, but the cherry scents dominate. The wine smells delicious.

Baleia Tempranillo 2018 Taste

The red wine taste has a light spice with cherry and berry flavours. It is quite a dry varietal, but the spice and ripe cherry flavours taste incredible. There are hints of tobacco, making the wine perfect for a cigar pairing.

The Tempranillo red wine enhances the cigar's salted caramel and creamy tobacco flavours.

Sixto Pairing Conclusion

Four factories and eight plantations produce more than 40-million cigars a year. It makes sense to smoke one of the best cigars on the market.

Sixto I and Wonderdraai white wine pairing.

The wine's waxy tastes release melted caramel and cocoa from the cigar. There is a distinctive light spicy flavour. The cigar spice enhances the honey notes from the wine. It is a sweet honey and caramel pairing.

Baleia Tempranillo 2018 red wine pairing

When last did you taste spiced berries? That is what the pairing delivered. As the cigars evolved, cocoa and caramel flavours blended with smooth tobacco puffs. The red wine, tobacco and cherry flavours make it a delicious red wine to pair with a cigar.

The cigar burn is smooth with perfect wavey ash construction. It is a cigar to enjoy slow.

You can also pair the Sixto I with cinnamon tea. A cappuccino or something sweeter like ginger beer will also compliment the cigar.

Final Notes

I recently paired my first Plasencia. The cigars are incredible. The smooth cigars are bold in flavour but offer a medium strength smoking experience releasing balanced flavours.

The packaging on the shaped box mirrors the shape of the cigar. The construction is excellent, with a perfect easy draw.

If you enjoy wine, coffee or tea with a cigar, the light clove spice and creamy flavours make the Sixto I a superb cigar for a pairing.

Click the link below if you would like to smoke the Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto I cigars.

Plasencia Alma Fuerte Sixto I Hexagon