Building on the success of the Villa Zamorano Reserva line, Maya Selva Cigars introduced a new 6 x 60 vitola in that line at last years InterTabac trade show in Dortmund, Germany. The new vitola, named “Soberano“, which means “Sovereign”, was also showcased at the 2020 Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) trade show in January of this year.
Maya Selva notes, on the company’s website:
“The ‘Reserva’ collection evolves the flavor of the original
Villa Zamorano, a hand-made cigar rolled with premium tobacco.These Honduran cigars will appeal to the daily smoker who enjoys a solid and consistently good smoke, without breaking the bank. “
The Villa Zamorano Reserva is a Honduran puro with a blend described as:
- Wrapper – Honduran (Jamastrán) – grown on Maya Selva Cigars’ own Honduran farm, Santa Eulalia.
- Binder – Honduran
- Filler – Honduran
With the addition of the Soberano vitola, the Villa Zamorano Reserva line, which debuted in 2017, is now expressed in 8 vitolas, each packaged in 25-count wooden boxes.
- Expreso (3.5 x 52) MSRP $4.90
- Intenso (4 x 46) MSRP N/A
- Corona (5 x 42) MSRP N/A
- Robusto (5 x 50) MSRP $5.50
- El Gordo (5 x 56) MSRP $6.30
- No 15 Torpedo (5.5 x 54) MSRP $6.50
- Churchill (7 x 48) MSRP N/A
- Soberano (6 x 60) MSRP $7.50
In addition, Maya Selva Cigars’ introduced a new Villa Zamorano Reserva collection sampler, which is designed to look like a beverage can and contains 5 popular vitolas of the blend: Expreso, Robusto, El Gordo, N°15,and the Soberano. The sampler has a retail price of $32.50.
For this review, I sampled one Villa Zamorano Reserva Soberano.
Pre-Light Examination
The Maya Selva, Villa Zamorano Reserva, is a well constructed cigar with a milk chocolate brown wrapper that has minimal veins and a decent sheen. It is finished with a nice cap and is solidly packed. No soft spots were detected along the barrel.
Two bands adorn the cigar. The primary band uses a black, orange, brown, and white motif. The white letters “VZ” are boldly printed in the center of an orange circle and the name “VILLA ZAMARANO” encircle that. The secondary band, located just below has the word “RESERVA” printed in white on a bright red background. The sides of the band declare this as Maya Selva Cigares products along with “Hecho a Mano Honduras”.
I ran the Villa Zamorano Reserva along the nose and did not pick up much aroma along the barrel, but the foot presented a light earthy “Honduran” scent. There is no doubt this is a Honduran puro.
After slicing the cap straight across the shoulder, with my double blade Xikar cutter, I rolled it about taking some long cold puffs. I was treated to a gently growing pepper note on the palate and lips.
My triple flame torch did the trick to warm the foot and get the journey started, a journey that began with a continued peppery spice. Follow along as I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Initial notes start with a continued peppery spice from the cold draw
- Hint of sweet malt tones down the pepper
- Solid white ash forms on a thick but wavy char line
- Light nut aroma wafts off the foot
- Natural sweetness grows with a touch of cream
- Smooth smoke getting through the first inch of burn
- Solid ash chunk breaks off revealing a flat but centered burn cone
- Bitter sweet cocoa notes add briefly to the profile
- Sweetness maintains with a mild citrus nuance
- Very clean finish
- Light spice enters moving into final third joined with a touch of coffee
- Mild to Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 50 minutes
Overall, the Maya Selva Villa Zamorano Reserva Soberano was a pleasurable journey that offered an interesting array of flavors and aromas. Once the early pepper notes toned down there was a core of sweetness that maintained through a good part of the cigar with various and intriguing nuances. There was a bit of a wavy burn but never needed to be touched up. For what Maya says is a value priced cigar, I feel this is worth picking up at least a fiver or even grab the “sampler can” and check out a good portion of the line. I rate this a 92.
Point Deductions: (-1) Flat Burn Cone; (-1) Wavy Burn
