Cornell & Diehl Sansepolcro Tobacco Review
-
Kyle Weiss - May 14, 2019
- 3 min read
Kyle Weiss
Italy might not be widely-known for its tobacco cultivation, but like most European countries, it has locales and regions that a few hundred years ago were found suitable for just that. Sansepolcro is a Tuscan town roughly two hours north of Rome and in an area favored for climate and soil. Tobacco seems to really like growing there, too. In turn, the people that live there also really like tobacco, as do the Italians who grow it. In fact, doing some quick research, I had no idea the country produces about 90,000 tons annually. Italians as a whole are passionate and exacting people, so I was looking forward to what they could do with tobacco.
Cornell & Diehl have been taking their “Small Batch” line seriously. I sheepishly admit I thought it was a bandwagoning fad. Pipe smoking isn’t exactly an Everyman activity any longer and I’d hazard a guess nearly all pipe tobacco of any decent reputation is technically small-batch. C&D is really introducing unique blending ideas and offering tobacco we might not otherwise know was out there. I think we often forget there’s a whole planet of exotic tobacco waiting for us.
“Sansepolcro” is a new kid in the C&D Small Batch line, and as usual, it is limited to so many produced tins: 8000 in this case. A blend of Carolina Red and an Italian dark-fired of the same name, Sansepolcro combines a familiar flavor experience and an exotic twist—I couldn’t say no. Opening the tin, the tobacco feels plump and soft but not overly moist. Colors are tawny, tan and reddish. The smell is mute; slightly sweet and herbaceous, mild and toasty. It has a springy quality when loading up a bowl but isn’t annoying to deal with.
First lights are pleasant and easygoing, yet alive and nodding to a white pepper. There isn’t much in the way of sweetness, however the scent of the smoke gives it a slight glazed bread note. Immediately I’m reminded of Semois tobacco, the Belgian treat that won me over a few years back.
Midway through my smokes I’m reminded this easygoing tobacco needs to become a summertime staple. The Red Virginia plays a solid and foundational role that keeps the spice of the dark-fired curing from getting too monotonous and adds the toasted signature for which I’m so fond. The Tuscan tobacco is easy to get to know, and unapologetically stays easygoing, dry to the mouth, cool and fresh. I kept expecting a grassy quality, but there is none. While not as garden-floral as Semois, Sansepolcro seems to attain a more savory attitude and quite often brought tea-like enjoyment and flavors.
Finishing bowls end much like they began. There is no intense punch of flavors as with many tobaccos, and the consistency is enjoyable. Usually with gentler tobacco I have concerns with an ashy taste toward the end, but Sansepolcro finishes clean and pleasant. It’s a simple smoke with tons of personality.
My initial concerns as I first smoked this tobacco is that it might be nothing more than a derivative of other European-style methods and cures. This is not a Semois, nor should be considered as such—but fans of such leaf will be very happy with it. It is spicier, just as sophisticated, and has a character all its own. Tamping should be minimal, but feel free to choose any pipe to enjoy Sansepolcro—it is very forgiving. Nicotine is moderate and room note was reported as spring-floral and sweet. Please choose any beverage, hot or cold; though it might favor Saison beers and IPAs, teas and coffee more than a stiff dram of peaty Scotch or espresso. As for aging, I’m not sure what direction it would go: the dryer leaf might take a while to allow the process to take hold. Not to mention it’s so good fresh, I doubt I’d have the patience necessary to let it sit around.
Sansepolcro is lively enough to be truly from Italy yet mild enough to introduce to mellow company. Sunrise to sunset, and ideal for all the warmth the Northern Hemisphere currently has to offer, I’d suggest my fellow puffers looking to expand their taste experiences to look into this blend. The spirit and care are right in the leaf, and it’s a little cheaper than a full trip to Tuscany. Stock up before it disappears.
Written by Kyle Weiss
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
1 Response
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 637. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Nate King. Most people know of Nate as an excellent pipe artisan. He also has an honorary Master of Pipes degree from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and is a member of the prestigious Confrérie des Maitres Pipiers de Saint-Claude. To be inducted into the Confrérie, this past May Nate travelled to Saint-Claude, France with master tobacco blender G.L. Pease, who was also inducted. It was quite a time in France, and at the ceremony. We’ll hear all about those adventures on the show. At the top of the show we’ll continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with six of his Satou Dublin-shape pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
Great review. I bought a couple of tins on its first release a year or so back. I look forward to cracking a tin one of these days.