Hendrik “Henkie” Kelner (on right) and son Hendrik Jr. tending young tobacco plants in the Dominican Republic which may, months or even years later, be deemed of vintage quality.

Kelner, an elder statesman of the cigar business, is well attuned to the whims of nature that are at the heart of any vintage tobacco. “The climatic variations can directly or indirectly affect the tobacco quality,” he states. “A heavy raining season will produce tobacco of less flavor and aroma. Rain excess could cause illnesses of the root, like Black Shank, and the combination of humidity and low temperatures can bring about the appearance of Blue Mold, which damages the tobacco quality. There are always years with better crops than others. However, it is not only organic factors that determine a crop as vintage. There are also proven results after the fermentation of the tobacco.” (Nuñez would agree: Macanudo does not declare their vintages until the tobacco is processed and aged. The recent 1997 vintage was not recognized as such until 2000.)

A classic year in Bordeaux, 2000, in Kelner’s opinion, was also outstanding for the tobacco crop in the Dominican Republic. It inspired the master roller to craft Davidoff’s most exclusive cigar of last year, the Davidoff Limited Edition 2000. “The 2000 crop was developed in ideal conditions,” he enthuses, “perfectly combining the delicate rains with sunny days, producing a plant without illnesses and great balance in its chemical composition.” Whereas the existing Davidoff line continues to strive for consistency by blending leaf from several different years, the 2000 breaks tradition by using filler and binder exclusively from that year’s stellar-across-the-board tobacco crop. Kelner describes the robust lonsdale as having “a longer aftertaste, and an aroma with sweeter-than-normal notes.” He points out that larger companies like Davidoff have high standards to meet; consumers expect year-to-year consistency in the regular lines, and yet have grown to expect and demand new tastes, new products every year. Hence, the popularity of other exclusive releases, like the new Zino Platinum Crown Series and the annual Avo limited editions.

Another mainstay among the cigar leaders in the Dominican Republic, Manuel Quesada of Manufactura de Tabacos S.A. (MATASA), concurs with Kelner’s recognition of special years and crops. However, his own definition of vintage is one that does not spotlight any particular year, but instead gathers the best portions of several years. “It’s not a clear-cut definition,” he says. “Every harvest, we go through all the tobacco in the warehouse for fermenting, sorting, packing, so on… and every year we find a certain amount that is particularly nice. And usually, that quantity is so small that if you put it into the regular blend, it’ll get lost in the shuffle. Later, you realize you have all these old tobaccos that you’ve been saving from all these different years, and you ask ‘What do I do with them?’ Well, you make a blend. That’s the concept we’re using for our vintage cigars.”

Quesada introduced the Fonseca Reserva Especial 2003 last year, melding these extra-special tobaccos, the oldest harvested in 1996, into a limited-edition cigar. “When they’re gone, they’re gone,” he proclaims, adding that a possible 2004 version would be a noticeably different blend. MATASA also produces a cigar that strives for the reliability of a regular cigar brand with the mystique of a vintage. Incorporating a looser definition of the term, the Fonseca Vintage line features tobacco that is aged for five years and specially treated. 2003’s Vintage cigars have tobacco from 1998, and the 2004 will have it from 1999, and so on. The watchword, Quesada emphasizes, is consistency from year-to-year.

When they’re gone, they’re gone - Unlike ongoing blends, which draw from a wide range of crops to ensure consistency from year to year, vintage releases are one-of-a-kind.

Despite their varying interpretations of what makes a cigar vintage, the industry leaders and innovators to whom I spoke for this story have some common ground. One area in which all are concerned is the potential misuse, or cheapening, of the vintage term for marketing purposes. Most also agree that some sort of official regulation of the crops, much like in France’s specifically-controlled wine regions, is a good idea, albeit one difficult to implement. Patel, who has a background in the wine business, supports the concept of strict standards. “Whomever makes vintage cigars should be able to provide proof that this tobacco is from a certain farm, lot, or batch,” he says. “We don’t have that so far in this industry, but I think it would be a great idea for those of us who actually use rare tobaccos rather than just claim to.”

Berger agrees, and explains with an example. “It would ‘professionalize’ the business,” he states. “People would think twice about putting a vintage label on something that’s not - like claiming something has ‘Cuban pre-embargo tobacco. There’s just no such thing anymore. If there ever was, it was gone during the boom. After all, Cuba doesn’t sell tobacco outside of Cuba; they only sell cigars!”

Borhani, who is not at all shy in his disdain for what he feels is dishonest usage of the term “vintage” (“It’s been watered down; people are using it for no reason. It’s ridiculous,” he says) feels that the industry, while needing such a system, is not quite ready for it. “Latin America is not France,” he asserts. “There’s just so much corruption and poverty in some of these countries. The governments of Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic would have to regulate the tobacco crops and send inspectors. [A cigarmaker] could probably give a government inspector $100 and say, ‘Certify this tobacco as 1998,’ and they’d probably do it. It’s just not going to happen.” Chiusano points out that his products, and many others made in the D.R., carry the official seal of ProCigar, the nation’s largest collective of cigarmakers, though this is an emblem of overall quality rather than a vintage designation.

While strict regulation of tobacco crops remains a far-off dream, one future development appears certain to most cigarmakers, and encouraging to those investing in vintages and limited editions: the evolution of consumer tastes. “Cigar smokers today are not what they were 30 years ago,” Quesada says. “they have changing tastes and they are a lot more adventurous. It’s not the old stubborn attitude of ‘I only like Brand X at 51/2 x 44 ring gauge. They want to try different things and these cigars avail them of different, very specific choices.” Patel brings it back to an enological metaphor: “The consumer is looking for fresh, new flavors. They’re not sticking with the same line or the same blend. One day they want a Cabernet, they next they want a Petit Sirah or Merlot. They’re looking for what’s new and hot.”