A recent report in Cigar Insider, covering an auction of vintage Cuban cigars in London, grabbed my attention.
The top-priced item was a box of 500 pre-embargo Punch Coronas that sold for GBP 40500.00.
That is about £80 (R1360) per cigar.
Old yes, but “vintage” as in wines?
Did the Habanos stamping indicate that the cigars were from a “vintage year”?

A quick visit to Google on the matter didn’t quite open up a can of worms, but it would appear that there is no exact definition for such cigars.
In fact there are at least three different definitions of “Vintage” cigars.

“Vintage” – referring to cigars with a wrapper from an exceptional harvest. The wrapper leaves are reserved to age for a future “vintage” blend of filler and binder.
The “2006 Rocky Patel Vintage” cigar launched recently has an 11-year old Mexican wrapper, with Nicaraguan filler and a Connecticut Broadleaf binder.
Coincidentally, Two Vintage Rocky Patel cigars have just arrived:
Vintage 1990 Robusto Single in a glass tube R225.00    R3893.00 box of 20
Vintage 1999 Robusto Single in a glass tube R237.00    R4117.00 box of 20

 “Vintage” in that all the leaf, filler, binder and wrapper, come from the same harvesting year.
Since 2003 La Aurora has developed a range of Vintage cigars. They have the additional benefit of being aged for several years before being rolled, and then in the box.
The La Aurora Puro Vintage 2006 was released in 2015.
Interestingly, although they are labelled “puro” the leaves do not necessarily all come from one country – in fact La Aurora uses leaf from Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, Nicaragua.

“Vintage” as an indication of the age of the cigar – in the case of Cuban cigars, the year in which the cigars were boxed, although the leaves may come from different years.
Since each major brand has its own “supply chain”, one can’t take filler from a really good Romeo y Julieta harvest, bind it with a leaf from the Montecristo line and wrap the bunch with a Partagas wrapper, even if all of these are “vintage” leaves in their own right.
The “year” stamp on the box is often covered by the health warning. Although the older cigars may have had more time to age – this is only beneficial if the cigars were good quality in the first place. Otherwise they may just be old and dusty. This is particularly true of Cuban cigars rolled towards the end of the last century and beginning of this one.
However, since 2005 quality control has improved in Cuba with amongst other thing the introduction of draw-testing machines. This combined with the outstanding “vintage” harvests of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 means that Cuban cigars from those dates onwards are some of the best in years – and will someday probably be considered really worthwhile “Vintage” cigars.

In the meantime there may be no need to search, and possibly overpay, for “vintage cigars” to find a truly satisfying smoke. Experiment by buying single cigars, or selections – Wesley’s has a wide range in their humidors.

And when you find your most satisfying cigars, you might want to carry a few with you.
A recent arrival from our supplier of fine leather goods in India is a leather cigar case for three Robusto-size cigars, with a pocket for a cigar cutter; sold with or without cigar scissors.

The old adage still applies even at today’s prices:
“A premium cigar is still one of the world’s most affordable true luxuries.”

Colin Wesley
No.412 September 7-20, 2017

Note:
By law, no South African citizen, living in South Africa can buy a tobacco product via the internet or postal system.  In fact, you may not receive a tobacco product through the post.
In addition we may not receive payment through the internet for tobacco products.
We may only supply tobacco products within the trade – not to private individuals. The fine is substantial
Contact us for help in getting tobacco to your area.

You can read previous articles from “Across the Counter” in The Library.

PS If you can’t visit a Wesley’s Bricks and Mortar, remember that if you’re not completely happy with your mailsale choice, you can always return it for a full refund.