Davidoff Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection

In 2006, Davidoff released three different cigars to commemorate the late Zino Davidoff’s 100th birthday: the 100th Anniversary Robusto, 100th Anniversary Diademas Finas and 100th Anniversary Diademas 100. The blends of all three cigars were different, and while the exact details have not been revealed, Hendrik “Henke” Kelner—the founder and former head of TABADOM, the facility in the Dominican Republic that is the home of production for Davidoff and its numerous brands—did state that the filler blend of the 100th Anniversary Diademas Finas was grown in the Dominican Republic and that the tobaccos were aged for between three and four years.

A dozen years later, the Diademas Finas returned, this time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Davidoff brand. The aptly named Davidoff Diademas Finas Limited Edition 50th Anniversary was made up of an Ecuadorian habano wrapper covering a Dominican olor seco binder and Dominican filler tobaccos from 2005. It was also packaged in porcelain jars designed by Mariane Léger, who was also tasked with creating accessories for that anniversary.

Earlier this year, Davidoff announced a third iteration of the legendary viola, the Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition. Like the first two versions, the cigar is a 6 3/4 x 50 diadema vitola. However, the blend is different: an Ecuadorian wrapper covering a Dominican binder and Dominican filler tobaccos, including seco from San Vicente that was aged in spent casks that previously held premier grand cru classé red wine from Bordeaux, France. According to the company, the seco tobacco was aged in these casks for six months, flipped every two weeks.

The Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection is the fourth and final release of Davidoff’s History Re-Rolled Series, which debuted last year. The other three releases in the series were all cigars that Davidoff had previously discontinued but brought back in 2023 for limited releases.

• Davidoff Signature No. 1 Limited Edition (previously known as the Davidoff Classic No. 1) — January 2023
• Davidoff Millennium Blend Lancero — April 2023
• Davidoff Aniversario No. 1 Limited Edition Collection — October 2023
• Davidoff Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection — July 2024

“The possibilities offered by different terroirs in winemaking and the blending of at least three different main grape varieties in French wine making inspired Zino Davidoff in 1946 to create a cigar line that would be blended in the same way as a fine red wine. The line we know today as Grand Cru has its origins in this wine-cigar analogy,” said Edward Simon, cmo at Oettinger Davidoff, in a press release. “Our new Grand Cru Diademas Finas with a wine cask aged filler tobacco is based on this idea, as the cigar perfectly reflects the main aromas of a well-aged red wine.”

Each Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection has an MSRP of $57, and they are packaged in 10-count boxes. There were 15,500 boxes made, of which 4,000 were slated for the U.S. market.

• Cigar Reviewed: Davidoff Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Cigars Davidoff
• Wrapper: Ecuador
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Length: 6 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $57 (Box 10, $570)
• Release Date: July 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Undisclosed
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Visually, the Davidoff Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection cigars are covered in very similar light brown-colored—almost yellow in certain light—wrappers that have very little oil present. They are extremely smooth to the touch, though the lack of oils makes them feel extremely dry and each has quite a few small bumps under their wrappers from top to bottom. All three cigars have some nice give when squeezed, but I can’t help but notice that my first cigar has a massive soft spot just above its foot. Aromas from all three wrappers include strong barnyard, earthiness, slight cheese, sweet wood, generic nuttiness and vanilla bean sweetness. Due to the extremely small openings, the scents coming from the feet are quite similar to those from the wrappers, but I do find slightly more cedar and barnyard. After straight cuts, the cold draws on all three cigars bring flavors of creamy oak, dry straw, cinnamon, peanuts, slight mushrooms, floral sweetness and light white pepper.

All three cigars feature the same notes of white pepper and creamy hay immediately after I light the feet, but both are quickly replaced at the top of the profile by flavors of peanut butter and toasted bread. The profile is exceedingly creamy and includes secondary flavors of the aforementioned hay, along with oak, nutmeg, light mushroom, and powdery cocoa nibs. The retrohale features quite a bit of white pepper as well as some noticeable but light sweetness that reminds me of Cracker Jacks, while can taste some lemongrass—albeit more grass than lemon—on the finish of my first and second cigars. Flavor is full, the body lands halfway between mild and medium, and the strength hits a point just under the medium mark. In terms of construction, my first cigar needs a quick burn correction to stay on track—the other two are great in that regard—but the smoke production and draws are excellent for all three cigars so far.

Creamy oak and roasted peanuts take over the main slots in the profiles of the cigars during the second third, followed by additional flavors of nutmeg, coffee beans, hay, dank earth, mushroom, cornbread and dark chocolate. There is still a large amount of white pepper present on the retrohale, but the sweetness has shifted to a distinct floral note that seems to be getting stronger as the burn line progresses. There is a new lemon zest note on the finish of two cigars—the first one and the last one—but it is not strong enough to have any significant impact on the profile yet. Flavor remains firmly at full, but the body increases to a point just under medium and the strength passes into solid medium territory. There are absolutely no issues at all when it comes to any aspect of construction, as the burns, draws and smoke production work in harmony for all three cigars.

During the final third, the peanut butter returns with a vengeance to the top of the profile—although the flavor is creamier and sweeter than it was in the first third—where it is joined by a distinct hay flavor. Additional notes of plain oatmeal, leather tack, earth, cocoa nibs, sourdough bread, nutmeg and very light mushroom show up at various points, but the lemon zest that was present on the finish in the second third has dissipated completely, never to return. Once again, the sweetness on the retrohale changes—this time to a bready graham cracker—while the amount of white pepper drops slightly compared to the second third. Flavor ends the cigar at full, and the body increases enough to land at a solid medium, but the strength jumps to medium-plus. Other than a minor burn correction in my second cigar, the construction is excellent until I put the nubs down.

Final Notes

• Other than an oak flavor that is more distinct than I normally find in most Davidoff cigars, I did not taste any overt flavors that would make me think that some of the tobacco in this blend was aged in spent casks that previously held red wine.
• The draws were excellent from the first puff on all three cigars, a rarity with these types of vitolas, as they are usually a bit tight in the beginning due to the small foot opening.
• I found the middle third to be the most enjoyable: the flavors in the profile are more robust and there is a great balance with between the main profile and the combination of white pepper and sweetness present on the retrohale.
• There is a mushroom note present throughout all three cigars—a flavor that I find in some Davidoff blends—but it never becomes strong enough to negatively impact the profile.
• Davidoff has released some amazing cigars in the Diademas vitola: not only the original Diademas Finas and the 50th Anniversary, but also the best vitola in the company’s Nicaragua line, although the latter release is 1/4 of an inch shorter.
• The Davidoff Diademas Finas Limited Edition 50th Anniversary tied for fourth place on halfwheel’s Top 25 of 2018 and also tied for second with the Espinosa Las 6 Provincias LHB on our Packaging Awards that same year.

• These cigars are officially listed as being 6 3/4 x 50 vitolas.
• Davidoff of Geneva USA advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged out to two hours and 10 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase the Davidoff Grand Cru Diademas Finas Limited Edition Collection, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. and Famous Smoke Shop have them in stock.