Charlie ...
... Under Robert Mondavi, they had four productions, and no more.
Their first cigar brand, the Napa Nicaragua was first sold in November 1996. Made with binder and filler grown near Esteli, Nicaragua, the cigar is finished with a Sumatra grown wrapper. This cigar is made in an Esteli factory known as "Nicahabanos" partially owned by Carlos Toraño, who coordinates the manufacturing. This cigar goes from mild to medium as it is smoked. The Napa Nicaragua comes in six sizes: Rothschild (4.75 x 50), Petit Corona (5 x 42), Corona (5.5 x 44), Toro (6 x 50), Churchill (7.5 x 48) and the Perfecto at (5.75 x 50). The cigars have a suggested retail price from $5.50 to $7.50.
The Napa Dominican followed the Nicaragua cigar in December 1996. The Dominican Republic filler and binder are matched with an Indonesian wrapper. The cigar is made at the Puros de la Villa Gonzalez factory in Villa Gonzalez, Dominican Republic. Puros de la Villa Gonzalez is primarily a tobacco grower and processor who recently began saving some of its best tobacco to use in select partnerships to make cigars. Cigar Aficionado gave the Pyramids an 89 rating in the April 1998 issue. SMOKE highly recommended the Lonsdale in the Summer 1997 issue. The Napa Dominican Republic comes in five sizes: Rothschild (4.75 x 50), Gran Corona (6 x 44), Pyramid (6 x 52), Toro (6 x 50) and Churchill (7 x 48). The cigars have a suggested retail price from $7.50 to $9.00.
In early 1997, Napa released their Canary Islands Reserve. The filler is from the island of La Palma with just a touch of Mata Fina tobacco from Brazil to get the "right" taste. Topped with a US grown Connecticut shade wrapper, the full-bodied cigar is made in La Palma, Canary Islands. Cigar Aficionado gave the Figurado an 83 rating in the April 1998 issue. SMOKE highly recommended the Corona in the Fall 1997 issue. The Napa Canary Islands Reserve comes in five sizes: Robusto (4.75 x 50), Gran Corona (6.75 x 44), Figurado (6 x 52), Corona (5.75 x 42) and Churchill (7 x 50). The cigars have a suggested retail price from $10.00 to $13.00.
Napa's fourth brand, the Dominican Reserve was released in November 1997. This cigar also demonstrates the idea of blending-to-taste. The filler is Dominican Olor and Dominican Piloto Cubano with just a touch of Sumatran tobacco. The wrapper is a rich Connecticut seed grown in Ecuador. Palmarejo Cigars, S.A, makes the cigar in Villa Gonzalez, DR. Cigar Aficionado gave the Pyramids an 87 rating in the April 1998 issue. The Napa Reserve Dominican Republic comes in five sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Petit Corona (5.5 x 42), Pyramid (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 50) and Churchill (7.5 x 50). The cigars have a suggested retail price from $8.00 to $10.00.
And yes, as far as I am concerned, the BEST was from the Canary Islands, but the ones Low got, are not bad at all ... and actually received higher ratings!
