Sancho Panza Gran Quixote 19

[99call]

Aroma at cold :  sour rich, immediately makes me think of a dark box of 2018 Monte Especial I have, Dark chocolate, buttery

Cold Draw;  A mirroring of the aroma. chocolate,  pumpernickle bread, Hmm? bit of wind tunnel

1st 3rd, Love this cigar so decided to stock up. Straight out of the traps, very very sweet. it's got the old casino funk which @PigFish  has previously so perfectly pitched about RGCE.  it's a difficult to nail down sort of savoury morishness, that you'll often find in Rafael Gonzalez, and Sancho Panza.   A really odd draw that flicks between absolute wind tunnel, and perfect.  Love this cigar. Currently it's a wonderful mix of Sancho Panza Belicoso, Montecristo Especial, and a high quality RGPC.  Smoking like a glace chestnut dipped in bitter chocolate.   Love it

2nd 3rd,  After the opulent start, sweet chewy smoke full of dark rye bread and high quality dark chocolate.  There's a seediness that drops in, this time it's not a casino Ha!  theres a caraway (which I often find in HQ Monte 2) and sunflower seeds.  It gets got that wonderful quality where it's flitting between sweet, sour salty, umami.  a brilliant balance and complexity.

3rd, 3rd,  The high notes on this tamper down, and expectedly the cigar gets a great deal stronger and a bit more rumbunctious/wayward.  So much character in this thing,  I love the fact its both very sweet, but has also got some grunt and balls (lacking in so many current CC's).   This is very enjoyable now, and legs that are long.   

Conclusion: For me these will be something very special in 5years time.  The only concern for me would be that dark cigar seem to lose sweetness over time, whereas colorado claro seems to gain.  I would hate to lose the sweet opulence of this cigar. 

Score:  91-92.  This is one of those cigars, whereby everything is there, it would be a massive surprise to me if these didn't climb up to the higher echelons of the 90's in the years to come.  

[JohnS]

I would concur, one of the best cigars I've had in 2020. (It's) An outstanding release.

[99call]

  On 10/27/2020 at 7:38 PM, JohnS said:

I would concur, one of the best cigars I've had in 2020. (It's) An outstanding release.

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Great to see you're also a fan John

I think the thing that really crystallised a moment with me and these cigars,  is something someone said to me once.  "Sometimes in failure of the search, you end up finding something far superior".       I've been wanting to find a couple boxes of well kept RGCE for years now.  I have bought boxes form various years, but in sampling a couple they never hit the levels of expectancy I was looking form, and was happy to sell them on. 

Something clicked in my head when smoking this recent SPGQ,  Eureka! It was the experience I was looking for, but found in an altogether different corner of the cigar world.  I had wanted RGCE that were sweet, rich with umami, and opulent.   Whilst I would never suggest there would be any real true likeness between these two cigars.  The itch ended up getting scratched from a completely left-field unexpected source.    The level of satisfaction was quite something,  I felt like I'd won the lottery, but with a losing ticket. 

Anyway, I always admire the sheer breadth of cigars you seek to try,  it's a good lesson to us all.  That sometimes in the slightly OCD quest to find something particular that we have in a blinkered field of vision, we are potentially missing other cigars that may satisfy that desire....and then some. 

[JohnS]

  On 10/28/2020 at 1:08 PM, 99call said:

Anyway, I always admire the sheer breadth of cigars you seek to try,  it's a good lesson to us all.  That sometimes in the slightly OCD quest to find something particular that we have in a blinkered field of vision, we are potentially missing other cigars that may satisfy that desire....and then some. 

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Well said...I couldn't have said it better myself!

[BuzzArd]

I’ve enjoyed the couple I’ve had.  I’m not “deep” on boxes, but I think 4-5 will do me.   I’m happy to have them. 

[99call]

  On 10/28/2020 at 11:53 PM, BuzzArd said:

I’m not “deep” on boxes, but I think 4-5 will do me

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Ha,  I've just developed a new understanding of what "deep" means.   Touche!

[BuzzArd]

  On 10/29/2020 at 12:19 AM, 99call said:

Ha,  I've just developed a new understanding of what "deep" means.   Touche!

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I guess I always figured “deep”

approached a Master Case in quantity!   LOL

[99call]

  On 10/29/2020 at 12:22 AM, BuzzArd said:

I guess I always figured “deep”

approached a Master Case in quantity!   LOL

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Animal!!!.......jealous

[BuzzArd]

  On 10/29/2020 at 12:23 AM, 99call said:

Animal!!!.......jealous

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Don’t be jelly of ME!  LOL I figure that’s what @El Presidente means when he says “these are fantastic and destined to be a classic.   Go deep if you can”.   

[Islandboy]

Tapping in to one this Christmas evening, and this review is as spot on and detailed as it gets. Far beyond my abilities to decipher it in terms of individual flavors, but exactly what I’m experiencing. Glad I went “deep” on 3 boxes. 😆

[99call]

  On 12/26/2021 at 8:12 AM, Islandboy said:

Tapping in to one this Christmas evening, and this review is as spot on and detailed as it gets. Far beyond my abilities to decipher it in terms of individual flavors, but exactly what I’m experiencing. Glad I went “deep” on 3 boxes. 😆

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I'm glad they're still in that sweet spot.  Fingers crossed they just keep getting better