Partagas 898V OSO MAY 07

[Rogers72]

Smoke: Partagas 898V OSO MAY 07

Drink: Brice Brut NV Champagne Bouzy, France (60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier)

Preface: I have a very brief but passionate history with the 898V. I ordered a few of these singles from the lovely Lisa a few months back. I have smoked only one prior to this one and it was well after I had taken up drunk but the little that I do remember of it was spectacular. It has been a couple of weeks since that first one but I can still taste a sweet yet somewhat sour cheesecake with pecan praline sauce drizzled on top, wrapped around a core of rich, powerful tobacco. It was fantastic then and I have been seriously looking forward to more. I only hope that I haven’t set it up for failure by placing it on such a drunken pedestal. Kind of like when you meet a gorgeous woman in the bar, take her home, have a fantastic evening, only to wake up the following morning to discover that….well, you get the idea. We will soon find out for sure as I am not drunk…yet.

I picked up this champagne from one of our local big box wine merchants a few weeks back. I had never heard of it before or always overlooked it on the shelves but this time the Manager had stopped me while browsing to ask specifically if I had tried it. I picked it up solely on his recommendation and the price was only around $30USD (not bad at all if you have seen how much French wines have risen given the flailing USD). Anyway, he compared it to one of the more well known and more pricey houses and said that his customers can never tell the difference in blind test. Game On.

Chapter 1

This beautiful Dalia is right at medium Colorado in shade with a perfect triple cap. Overall construction is flawless. I snipped the head to find that great little dimple beneath and pre-light draw was just right for me. No remarkable odor at cold.

Chapter 2

The foot took to flame beautifully and the smoke was just pouring out. I immediately began to pick out some unique flavors; however, I am now getting that little feeling of waking up the morning after as it is not exactly what I remembered so fondly from our first rendezvous. I can’t quite put my finger on the prevailing flavors in the opening act of this cigar. They seem a bit more floral than the sweet cheesecake and pecan that I remembered but at the same time a little sour, in a pretty damn good way. Quite strangely, the distinct flavor that I am getting is reminiscent of a good gin??? It is full flavor and body is slightly on the heavy side of medium. Burn is perfect and ash is very dark and hanging on tightly. I love this vitola.

Chapter 3

That distinct flavor that was so present in the beginning has been fading rapidly and giving way to good old toasted tobacco and it is becoming more Partagas-esque now. By the midpoint it is completely gone and we are talking straight, powerful Cuban cigar. The flavor is still quite full and the body is now quite strong. I am sure there are elements of youth here as it is a touch bitter but I haven’t smoked enough aged cigars to really identify these elements. Overall still delicious though and the burn continues to impress.

Chapter 4

As this cigar enters into its own twilight, it maintains that strong toasted tobacco but seems to mellow out a bit and kick some of that bitterness. I let my wife take a knock of it here and I think she accidentally inhaled a little…she will sit with me on the porch and entertain me while I smoke and will occasionally taste but is by no means a smoker. I continued on to the nub and enjoyed every minute.

Ratings:

I make no claims to be knowledgeable enough to give a reliable score on this Cigar. This score is somewhat arbitrary due to my limited experience and can only be given within the framework on what I have had before. With that out of the way, I would give the cigar a solid 89. It is still very young and has endless potential I am sure but I thoroughly enjoyed it now. The champagne was also very delicious. Exploding with bubbles and very light and crisp. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

[Colt45]

These are very good cigars now, and should be better down the line - thanks for the review.

[havanaclub7]

I've never seen this Champagne House before. Was it good? Did it remind you of any other champer?

[Rogers72]

I thought it was exceptional. The merchant compared it to Bollinger i believe in his blind tests but I am not good enough to peg it as a match w/o having them side by side. It wasn't cakey or yeasty or anything like that I didn't think. Just light, crisp and just right on Dry vs. Sweet scale for me (a little on the dry side of most Bruts out there it seemed).