Cornell & Diehl Sansepolcro

Yep, this is some great pipe tobacco.

Tin note is fragrant and deceptively spicy, the spice from the firecured tobacco tingles my nose a little.

Love the sweet red virginias, they run the full spectrum of red virginia flavor from a little bright citrus to bready with a lot of fruitiness in the middle. In contrast to the spicy tin note, I found the Italian dark-fired to be earthy, mellow, fragrant in a way that reminds me of kitchen spices, and very flavorful. Only a hint of smokiness. As others mentioned, there can be a slight rough edge to the smoke which I enjoyed.

Thanks to the C&D rep for hooking my local brick and mortar shop with this, since I only shop local I wouldn't have gotten it otherwise. Someone else got to all but one of the other tins, which I will cellar. Guessing that it will be pret-ty magical after a few years.

Recommended!

Excellent, but not for the faint of heart. Vaper smokers who like something with a little extra strength and complexity will love this. It's a special take on a VAperK; instead of Kentucky there's that lovely Italian San-se-pol-cro, which is not too hard to pronounce if you recognize there are 4 syllables in the word.

It's a bit raw when fresh, which is great if you're looking for a punch in the teeth to remind you you're still alive. With a couple years age the red Virginias become sweeter and the blend becomes better balanced and all the various flavors meld as they should - the edges soften and the Italian dark fired smolders in the background. The effect is like a subtle Islay scotch that takes you by surprise in its complexity, and starts to radiate through your body with warmth and a bit of excitement - the smoke is there, but it's a byproduct of the curious alchemy that's turning everything into a ruddy hue of gold. I wax poetic - it's great stuff.

i have smoked this and HH ODF back to back and can say that each is fantastic and different from each other. This blend is a spicy floral bbq treat! Dont confuse floral with that lakeland crap, just gotta get ya some and you will understand! I suspect that this will age like a champ.

Grassy, semi-sweet with a subtle spice note. Not your regular dark fire flavor. Very nice indeed! Darn near perfect moisture and cut straight from the tin. You would suspect this to be a strongman blend but it is toned down to a high medium in both taste and nicotine. I believe this will be a super blend after it spends a while in the cellar, will definitely get more for just that purpose! Excellent blend C&D😎

Tin 1221 of 8000 has a note of bread, Rasins, and mild smoke. The tan, brown and dark brown broken flakes have a reddish hue and needs only minor attention on the few bigger flakes. Tobacco is a little moist, no drying needed. Burns relatively slow with multiple relights. The strength is medium to strong and nic is medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and consistent, with notes of wood, earth, cigar, slightly grass, slightly floral, mildly sweet bread, mildly dried bitter fruit, mildly tart, mildly lemon and a very peppery retro. It seems like Italian dark fired and Red Virginias are playing high stakes poker while smoking cigars. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Sansepolcro comes out of the tin fairly dry and smokable; no drying time needed. It has a sweet earthy cigar like fragrance right out of the tin. You can smell the Virginia's mixed with dark-fired florets. The dark-fired florets are are not used heavy handed more as a condiment. The smoke is not like smoking a cigar. It has sweet robust flavor, a bit earthy with savory cigar like nuances.

This is delicious. Bought several more tins when it came out again in 2019.

3rdGuy

Beautiful blend of dark fired florets and Red Virginia. Usually cigar leaf is added for body more than flavor but you can really appreciate the florets in this. Curious to see how it ages. May get interesting if the cigar drops back a hair and the Red moves up. In any case it is a solid blend. Can be packed fairly tight for a longer smoke without issue. Lights and burns well.

Sansepolcro is a well balanced sweet red Virginia and dark fired blend. The exceptional Italian dark fired varietal adds a good strength and spice, while the VA sweetens to just the right amount. A good nicotine medium blend that I find very satisfying. Wish I could have cellared a few tins, but glad I was still able to get one a few months after the release. In the right pipe, it'll make my mouth water. Smells excellent in the tin. I'm assuming it's the same red Virginia that was used in the Small Batch Carolina Red Flake, or very similar.

I am reviewing tin 1189/8000 from the 2020 batch. The smell of tobacco in its container is very light, primarily virginia and slightly cigar leaf. It comes with the right point of humidity for direct loading, even a little on the dry side.

Once the pipe is lit, the Kentucky looks very well balanced with the other tobaccos and is the type that I like. To give the reader an idea, it's not in the style of Mac Baren's Old Dark Fired or Lakeland Dark or SG's 1792 (mixtures all stronger than this one). Certainly, as some review has said, there is a similarity with Jacknife Plug and although I have not tried Savinelli's 140º, I have smoked the 145º of the same brand and there is also a similarity in the use of dark fired Kentucky, although in the latter case, the 145º is more “perfumed”.

Either way, Sansepolcro has its own personality, largely thanks to the addition of the cigar leaf that makes it different and compatible with the Jacknife Plug. -G.L. Pease-, as well as having a slightly spicier flavor. It has body and robustness. I really enjoy smoking it accompanied by a good whiskey. Four stars and a toast to C & D "small batch" mixtures.