Review: Somm Rioja Robusto

Today, we review the Somm Rioja in the Robusto size. Somm Cigars is a new company that is the brainchild of Vlada Stojanov. Stojanov has years of experience as a wine sommelier and in the cigar industry. In 2023, he became a brand owner and launched Somm Cigars. The Rioja is the second regular production line introduced into the portfolio. As we will see, Stojanov has incorporated his experience as a wine sommelier into his brands.

The Somm Cigars portfolio has two main pillars. Each pillar pays homage to a different wine region. The Somm Rioja line pays homage to Spain’s Rioja region and is produced at Eladio Diaz’s Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera factory in the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, the Somm BDX line (which has two blends) pays homage to France’s Bordeaux region and comes out of Fabrica Centroamericana de Tabaco S.A. in Honduras.

For now, we will turn our attention to the Somm Rioja Robusto and see what this cigar offers.

Closed box of the Somm Rioja Robusto

Somm Rioja Robusto – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Somm Rioja is highlighted by three-year-aged Dominican Corojo wrappers, three-year-aged Sumatra binders, and four fillers from the Dominican Republic that have been aged four years. Over the past year, I’ve noticed many companies holding back blend information. One thing I have found refreshing about Stojanov is how he has been pretty open about the blend components of his lines.

Wrapper: Dominican Corojo (Aged Three Years)
Binder: Sumatra (Aged Three Years)
Filler: Dominican (Four Fillers, Each Aged Four Years)
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera

Vitolas Offered

The Somm Rioja comes in two sizes – each is presented in ten-count boxes.

Toro: 6 x 52
Robusto: 5 x 54

Appearance (*)

The Dominican Corojo of the Somm Rioja Robusto is chestnut brown with a slight Colorado tint. The surface has a very light coating of oil. Upon closer examination, the wrapper shows a slight amount of mottling and toothiness. There are some visible veins. Most of the wrapper seams are well hidden. One thing I really liked about the Rioja Robusto was the Cuban-style flat cap.

PERFORMANCE

Pre Light Draw (*)

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Somm Rioja Robusto. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered notes of natural tobacco, earth, and tannins. For me, this was a satisfactory pre-draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the Somm Rioja Robusto and see what this cigar would deliver.

Tasting Notes

The Rioja Robusto opened with notes of earth, natural tobacco, tannin, and wood. The natural tobacco had a wine-like sweetness to it. The natural tobacco moved to the forefront as the cigar moved through the first third. The earth, tannin, and wood settled in the background. This was joined first by some nut notes and then by some white pepper notes. Meanwhile, a layer of wood and black pepper was on the retro-hale.

The second third of the Rioja Robusto saw the natural tobacco notes remain primary. In the background, the nut notes transitioned to more of a grain-like note. Meanwhile, the earth, tannin, wood, and pepper notes remained in the background. On the retro-hale, the pepper notes took control.

The natural tobacco notes remained grounded in the forefront during the final third. By this point, some of the wine-sweetness qualities were gone. The pepper notes increased in intensity on the tongue and became the most prominent secondary note. Meanwhile, there were still earth, tannin wood, and grain notes in the background. As the cigar experience of the Rioja Robusto came to a close, the nub was slightly lukewarm and soft to the touch.

Burn

While the Rioja Robusto maintained a straight burn line and path, it required frequent touch-ups. The touch-ups did the trick, but there were more touch-ups than I preferred. The resulting ash was silver-gray in color, skewed toward the firm side. Meanwhile, both the burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Somm Rioja Robusto

Draw

The draw of the Rioja Robusto scored well. As readers know, I prefer a draw with a slight amount of resistance to it. This is exactly what the Rioja Robusto delivered. At the same time, it was still low maintenance to derive flavors from. In addition, the Rioja Robusto produced ample amounts of smoke along the way.

Strength and Body

The Rioja Robusto started out with medium-strength and medium-bodied flavors. As the cigar progressed, both the strength and body increased, with the body increasing at a more accelerated rate than the strength. By the second half, the flavors of the Rioja Robusto were medium-to-full-bodied. The strength, while increasing in intensity compared to the start, remained in the medium range.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained an edge – especially in the second half.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

Packaging of the Somm Rioja Robusto

The blue color on both the band and box of the Somm Rioja works really well. In particular, I like the use of chrome outlines and fonts on the cigar band. I also like the use of the ten-count boxes. It’s refreshing to see the blend components spelled out on the inside vista.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I usually save this for the end, but when a cigar company comes out of the gate and has two cigars I wouldn’t hesitate to buy; that’s an excellent sign. That was my opinion of the Somm BDX, and that’s my opinion of the Somm Rioja Robusto. Vlad Stojanov is doing some great work. Not only is he bringing unique blends into the marketplace, but the cigars taste quite good. While it doesn’t factor into the score, I also smoked the Rioja Robusto paired with a red wine, which was fantastic.

This is easily a cigar I would recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, as I said, it’s an easy buy and smoke again. I also look forward to smoking the Toro.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Wine Sweetness, Wood, Tannin, Nut, Earth, Grain, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Good
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good