Somm Premier Cru

In my opinion, one of the more interesting aspects of the cigar industry has always been the large number of companies started by people with massively diverse backgrounds. Sure, there are plenty of third, fourth and fifth-generation cigar makers, but there is also examples that go way beyond the norm, including a former NASA employee, a jewelry designer and even a bonafide magician.

Vlada Stojanov is another example who fits that mold due to the fact that he is a trained wine sommelier. In addition, he is the U.S. distributor of Casa 1910, Despot, Lampert, Xhaxhi Bobi and formerly the American distributor for Casdagli. 

In February, Stojanov launched a new cigar brand of his own during the 2023 Total Product Expo (TPE). Named Somm, the brand debuted with two different blends: Somm BDX and Somm Premier Cru. Blend-wise, former incorporates a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, a viso binder from Jalapa, Nicaragua and a filler that uses tobaccos from Mexico’s San Andrés region and Nicaragua’s Jalapa region, along with broadleaf grown in Honduras.

 

However, this review concerns the Somm Premier Cru, a limited edition 6 x 49 pirámides made with a wrapper from Bonao, Dominican Republic from the 1997 harvest, a binder grown in Monte Plata, Dominican Republic from the 2007 harvest, and Dominican San Vicente viso from 2018, Peruvian pelo de oro visos from 2017 and BVS African hybrid from 2017 in the filler. The cigars are made at the Kelner Boutique Factory in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, so it is no huge shock that the tobaccos used in the blend come from the Kelner family’s vast library.

The Somm Premier Cru carries an MSRP of $30, and it is limited to just 300 boxes of five cigars that began shipping to retailers in March.

• Cigar Reviewed: Somm Premier Cru
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Kelner Boutique Factory
• Wrapper: Dominican Republic (Bonao, 1997)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Monte Plata, 2007)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (San Vicente, 2018), Peru (pelo de oro, 2017) & Undisclosed (BVS African Hybrid, 2017)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 49
• Vitola: Pirámides
• MSRP: $30 (Box of 5, $150)
• Release Date: March 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 300 Boxes of 5 Cigars (1,500 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Due to the shape, the Somm Premier Cru is fairly unique when seen for the first time, but it is also covered in an attractive cinnamon brown wrapper that features a noticeable amount of oil. All three cigars have numerous veins running up and down their lengths, and all three are slightly rough to the touch. Aromas emanating from the wrappers are faint, but I can still make out notes of woodiness, earth, nuttiness, leather, barnyard and generic sweetness. The foot is medium-full and features notes of creamy oak, sweet leather, almond paste, hay and very light citrus peel. Finally, after a straight cut, the cold draw brings flavors of oak again, sourdough bread, peanut butter, cinnamon, espresso beans and milk chocolate sweetness.

Toasted bread and baker’s spices start the Somm Premier Cru off as I light the foot, but those both begin to recede almost immediately, replaced at the top of the profile by flavors of strong oak and gritty earth. Additional flavors of leather tack, espresso beans, powdery cocoa nibs, citrus peel and sourdough bread flit in and out at various points, while light black pepper and honey sweetness are present on the retrohale. Flavor ends the first third at a solid medium, while the body and strength are both at mild plus but increasing. In terms of construction, all three cigars have no issues whatsoever with the burns, draws or smoke production through the first third.

Although the oak flavor remains one of the main flavors of the profile during the second third of the cigar, the gritty earth from the first third has been replaced by a powdery cocoa nibs note. In addition, I notice a new mineral saltiness on my lips, but it only shows up in two of the three cigars. Secondary flavors include leather, dry hay, sourdough bread, plain popcorn, cinnamon and slight coffee grounds. The retrohale still contains black pepper and honey sweetness, but now there is more of the latter and less of the former. Flavor bumps up to just over medium, the body hits a point just under medium and the strength increases to land at a solid medium. However, while all three cigars continue to have no issues with either the draw or smoke production, all three cigars need at least one correction—one cigar needs two total—with my lighter to avoid larger problems.

The spice from the very beginning of the cigar makes a return around the start of the final third, but it is not strong enough to be considered overwhelming at any point. In addition, the oak flavor from the previous two-thirds easily becomes strong enough to top the profile all on its own, followed by dark chocolate, toasted bread, hay, earth, espresso beans and cinnamon. On the retrohale, the amount of black pepper remains about the same, but the honey sweetness increases and makes more of an impact on the profile. Flavor ends the cigar at medium-plus, while the body stays at under medium and the strength increases very slightly to land at a tick above the medium mark. Thankfully, the burn on all three cigars avoid issues in the final third, and the smoke production and draw on all three cigars continue to give me no issues until I put the nubs down with less than an inch left.

Final Notes

• Both the BDX and Premier Cru lines use names that reference the world of wine: the former is an abbreviation for the famous French winemaking region of Bordeaux, while the latter is a French wine term that translates to first growth.
• While pirámides vitolas are not exactly unusual, it is not often that you see one with a 49 ring gauge.
• Editor’s Note: I measured the cigars, at their thickest points, at 48.5, 49 and 49 ring gauge. — Charlie Minato.

• The box our cigars came out of was number 346/400, which was hand-written on the back.
• The background color of the band is a plum color that instantly made me think of wine the first time I saw it, which is probably the point.
• Speaking of the bands, the design of the band used on this Sommelier Premier Cru is the exact same as the one used on the company’s Somm BDX release, despite the fact that the two cigars are completely different blends made in two different countries.
• Construction was relatively decent overall, with excellent draws and plenty of smoke production. However, each of the three cigars needed at least one burn correction, all during the second third.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 26 minutes.