Cornell & Diehl Sansepolcro

(3.38)
Merging the Old World with the New, Sansepolcro is a very special entry into the Small Batch project — carefully blended from unique, Italian dark-fired florets and some of the finest red Virginias from North Carolina. Aromatically spicy with earthy, clove-like undertones, these florets are all grown in the Sansepolcro region of Italy, which boasts a history and tradition of tobacco cultivation to the 17th century. Combined with mellow citrus and bread-like notes of the reds, it makes for a wonderful melange of flavors and aromas — at once both familiar and exotic.
Notes: First introduced in July, 2016. Limited production of 4,500 (2oz) tins. Read the story behind Sansepolcro on the Smokingpipes Daily Reader, https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/small-batch-the-historical-sansepolcro

Details

Brand Cornell & Diehl
Series Small Batch
Blended By Jeremy Reeves
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Virginia Based
Contents Cigar Leaf, Kentucky, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Broken Flake
Packaging 2oz Tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Medium to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.38 / 4
21

13

4

1

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 39 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 09, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable
The very woody, earthy, Italian dark fired florets have a multiplicity of flavors, and takes the lead. They offer a mild floralness, a touch of smoke, a little nuttiness, herbs, vegetation, and a sweet and dry, savory quality to them, the latter characteristics being the main feature of the lingering after taste. The spiciness is mild, and is more like the kind one would use in cooking rather than having a peppery quality to them, though the pepper is a little noticeable. As an important secondary player, the red Virginia is tangy, dark fruit and mildly tart and tangy citrusy sweet with a light fermented quality that reminds me of stewed fruit (raisins and prunes). It also provides a touch of spice, grass, bread with some earth and wood, and is a shade more perceptible in the last third of the proceedings. Well blended and well balanced, you’ll observe most of the inherent aspects of the tobaccos in the majority of puffs. The strength level is just past medium, while the taste is medium to full. The nic-hit is medium. While there is a roughness to the blend, it won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh moments. Burns at a little less than a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very consistent taste. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, but does require a few relights. Has a sweet, pungent room note. Not an all day smoke, but the experienced smoker will certainly find it repeatable.

-JimInks
51 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 06, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
What I would categorize as a rugged smoke, but one that I really enjoyed. The tobacco is on the dry side and the tin note is relatively light and smells mostly like a straight unadulterated C&D Virginia, raisiny with a hints of spice and a light grassy, vegetal aroma. The red Virginias are quite sweet but also earthy with a slightly bitter edge. The Italian dark fired isn't smoky smelling or tasting like Kentucky dark fired is, but it does add a good amount of peppery spice to the finish as well as a unique woodsy flavor that sits low in the mix and plays exceptionally well with the flavor of the Virginia. The tobacco burns cool and smokes smooth with loads of naturally sweet flavor. As the bowl progresses, the Virginias really shine and some interesting darker complexities come forth adding to the pleasure of this clean but meaty tasting blend.

Overall Sansepolcro has a heady punch to it that's sure to please pipers that prefer intense but well balanced tobacco flavor. The tobacco flavor strength is medium-strong and the nicotine level is a firm medium. I would imagine, given the quality of the Virginias that this will age nicely.
29 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 21, 2016 Medium to Strong Very Mild Medium to Full Tolerable
Update, 08-06-2017: Time spent in a jar has worked magic on this one. I't's not only easier to smoke but it's less cigar-ish and more floral, with a sort of "soft intensity" that reminds me of well-aged JackKnife Plug. Outstanding!

Original review: Cornell and Diehl’s Small Batch Sansepolcro is nothing remarkable in the tin, short, chunky ribbons ‘n bits that range from light-ish to medium red/browns. Scent is restrained, medium “depth”, well-aged VA tobaccos with a light topping of something like molasses, treacle, and a drop of anise. The lot smells like tobacco-ish brown bread. Nothing jumps out. Moisture is fine for smoking right from the tin. It loads easily and lights OK, and it smokes down OK, too, once it gets going. Stout but mature, earthy, sweet, air cured and lightly stoved red VAs start ahead of the Sansepolcro. At this point the lot is like earthy brown bread, with very faint meadow flowers, only slightly smoky, with a whiff of dark cocoa. It’s rich, but it’s not at all intense. I can see where someone might try to summon more flavor, but I advise against it, since the Sansepolcro rises and gets spicier, anyway, and IMO it could become too much of a good thing, at least for this blend. YMMV, of course. The Sansepolcro tobacco is loamy, a little musty, slightly smoky, and slightly bitter. As it comes up it reminds me more and more of dry Italian salami. Though there are “cigar spices” they are muted and condimental, the way I prefer to smoke it. If I puff harder, it starts to taste like those powerful little Italian cigars; pretty gnarly. I like to keep it as balanced as I can; then the lot becomes even richer and tastier for the rest of the smoke without ever getting too sharp, spicy, dry, or bitter. Strength builds smoothly to well past medium; likewise, the tastes. Aftertaste is smoky, VA-sweet black bread, and it lingers long.

C&D Sansepolcro is a fairly easy blend that’s tasty and rewarding; just what the doctor ordered; 4 stars from me. It’s easier than and not as complex as Savinelli’s 140 Year Anniversary blend (made for Savinelli by C&D), which also features (even less) Sansepolcro. I think anyone who likes 140, or GLP’s JackKnife Plug or Key Largo might like C&D’s Sansepolcro. For lots of fun, I recommend comparing this blend to Tabac Manil’s Le Petit Robin. FWIW, I am betting this will age well, as JKP and Key Largo do.
Pipe Used: various briars; group 4 preferred
PurchasedFrom: Cup o' Joes
Age When Smoked: fresh to 1 mo. from an un-dated tin
19 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 11, 2016 Medium to Strong None Detected Full Extra Strong
Rough, strong, scratchy.

Dry and smokable right from the tin. Packs and lights easily. Woodsy, smoky, spicy. Burns well. It scratches the nostrils and dries the upper palate. Outside on a below-freezing day, this carries through well and overpowers the cold. Its not that it is large and boisterous, it is that it is untamed and raw. A strong cup of coffee is a good accompaniment.

However, there is a tendency toward an accruing ashiness on the tongue. Smoked indoors, the room note quickly becomes unpleasantly strong, ashy and hangs like a pall for a long time. Not good.

In small bowls outdoors, this is ok. This is one of the few I won't smoke indoors at all. And the lingering ashiness on the tongue means I have no desire for another bowl anytime soon. Given these limitations, this will not be a repeat buy for me.
Pipe Used: Billiard
Age When Smoked: New
13 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 09, 2016 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Drums and JimInks have described this blend perfectly so I'll just add that this is delicious. If it were a blend that would be readily available I would add this to my favorites list in a heartbeat. This, my friends, is a wonderful smoke.

Medium to strong in body, nic is medium. No added flavoring. Taste is medium to full. Burns very well. Stock your cellars before it sells out.
Pipe Used: MM Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn, Marcus
PurchasedFrom: smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: fresh
11 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 12, 2016 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Strong
As a cigar smoker, this blend really sang to me from the first bowl. Sansepolcro is an earthy, dry smoke that reminds me of a full-bodied Nicaraguan puro. The red Virginia is earthy with a very subtle sweetness that fades in and out. The woody and slightly smoky Italian dark-fired florets are rich and spicy with some cinnamon and black pepper. The C&D website says there is black Cavendish though I don't taste it. I have enjoyed this in cobs, briars, and meerschaum. An easy 4 stars!
9 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 10, 2019 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Summary: tastes like a dark beer, with deep fermentation flavors from the Virginias crested by a nice tangy smoky flavor.

The Virginia mixture in this blend -- mostly pressed red Virginias -- shines through once the initial light gives off a wave of dark-fired flavor. The vaunted Sansepolcro dark fired tastes basically like any dark fired Kentucky Burley, except maybe slightly subtler due to age. As the Virginia caramelizes, the cigar leaf makes its presence briefly known as a malt like flavor underscoring the fermented taste of the rubbed out red Virginia flake that is the basis of this blend, and the dark fired leaf melts into that with a molasses and roasted barley flavor. It feels smooth in the mouth, has a good degree of sweetness without being overpowering, and develops from complex to several simple tastes in balance. I could see smoking this all day and hope they bring it back using regular dark fired Kentucky Burley aged to take off the edge.

8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 25, 2020 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Strong
Based on a tin dated 9/2017.

Tin note is somewhat tangy and sour and funky. Smells fermented, but still like tobacco.

It came pretty darn dry, which I kind of like. I dry it just a little more before smoking.

This blend is spicy and earthy, and there is a special roughness to it that is very reminiscent of a cigar. The tastes weave in and out of bready, creamy, tangy fruit, espresso, chocolate, toast, clove , and even a licorice taste sometimes towards the end. It's somewhat smokey like other dark-fired blends, and there is something very woody and floral about it, like slow-burning wood. It's a nice blend, but I would say that roughness is something I enjoy, yet I find it to be a drawback as well.

The strength is medium to strong. Nicotine is pretty high. Taste is medium.

I would recommend this to someone that likes the taste of cigars, and anyone that likes spicy, earthy blends. It reminded me a bit of G.L. Pease Navigator (one of my all-time favorites). I think this blend is unique in its spiciness and that roughness and that strong, fermented, tingly sensation it produces.

*Update* 8/7/2020

This blend grew on me. I just had to keep trying it. It's not as strong as it was at first, in terms of nicotine, but the body and flavor is still there. Floral, spicy (like chilis and cooking spices), herbal notes, chocolate, leather, some red wine notes. The flavors are rather subtle and I urge that some attention is given. This blend is special.

Highly-recommended. Four stars.
Pipe Used: Bent brandy,Canadian,Lovat,
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: Two years
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 18, 2017 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Tolerable
First of all C&D has probably the best Red Virginias in the business. And this blend partners them perfectly with the Italian leaf. Spicy in more of a cardamom kind of way, woody, stewed fruit into vanilla, earth, lemon zest, it is a bit rough but in a very very good way. Burns perfectly, a relight or two perhaps. A good amount of nicotine as well. Got a couple tins to cellar and a couple to smoke as I find myself going back to it again and again like a relief pitcher. Clean on the tongue but a little harsh on the soft palate.. it is both balanced and rough around the edges. Excited to see how it ages. Somewhat of a cigar leaf quality as it approaches on that acrid kind of thing but the finish is unique and tamed by the sweetness/fruit of the Virginia. I wouldn't call it bready per say, if anything more like potato bread then a dark grain.
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 17, 2017 Medium to Strong None Detected Medium to Full Extra Strong
An impulse buy, both the sansepolcro and small batch caught my eye at my local smoke shop. I have to agree with Warwick on this one. Seemed rough and scratchy to me, strong after taste that lingered, and the room note indoors seemed overpowering. I could see why a cigar smoker, those who enjoy dark-fired tobacco would appreciate this. Just not my cup of tea.
6 people found this review helpful.
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