Selection Meerapfel
Maestranza
Conde & Marques
You probably know
La Estancia from the Meerapfel clan, but they are back on the Belgian market
with a new range, and for the choice of name Joshua did some research
before choosing Maestranza.
Real Maestranzas de la Cabelleria is a brotherhood of the
nobility, skilled in horsemanship and the use of weapons. Over the years they
have played an active role in the most important historical events in Spain,
defending their traditions and the Spanish crown.
When one has the
motto of Sans Concession, when one
knows that the Family has a long experience in tobacco, that the tradition of
the ancestors is paramount, one can only find similarities with this
fraternity.
I have a nicely made cape, with a little oil and a white and
gold ring that has a helmet on it. And this hurts on the internet, many ask but
why do they have a spartan, trojan type helmet so an ancient greek style helmet?
In my own analysis, which links only myself, I find it very
interesting: there are indeed many similarities between the hippeis (noble
horsemen and soldiers of ancient Greece) and the knights of the Middle Ages.
Finally, the first Spanish Maestranza is a continuation of the late medieval
corporation.
If this is not protecting traditions, starting with a Greek
horseman, moving on to a Maestranza fraternity and ending with a pure
traditional cigar, the circle is complete.
And it goes without saying that he chose noble names for the
four modules of the range (currently only two in Belgium).
A final look at the cape before the ritual of carving and
lighting. Despite the beautiful quality, I find it rustic and rough.
Raw, the draw is perfect and gives me sensations of leather
and light white pepper.
The foot ignites perfectly and gives me a nice cloud of
smoke; I think I'm going to have a great time.
Very quickly a metallic sensation sets in. Oddly enough, I
have the impression that this one is submarine, I really feel that it is at the
level of the jaw or even the roots of the teeth. This may be annoying for some
amateurs, but I'll pass it by; in fact, you forget it very quickly, even though
you feel its presence throughout the tasting. A bit like when you are walking
in the woods and you feel a presence but you don't see it.
Okay, we know it's in place, but let's talk about the rest
of the sensations: my vitola gives me white pepper, dry earth, humus and a hint
of fern.
A thick layer of salt settles on my lips, while the inside
of my mouth is lined with notes of roasted peanuts. This takes me straight back
to my childhood when we watched TV at my uncle's house with the peanut dish
between us, or later when they served it in all the bistros in Liege with the
special beers; but that was before the test
purchase study on the amount of urine in the nibbles served in bars (that's
another story). As I sit in my memories, my Maestranza gets creamier with more fruity points this time like a pear and
vanilla feel before heading back to the barnyard and stable.
The smoke is
abundant, the draw is perfect and the ash has nice light gray colors that are
perfectly balanced. It is also compact and sticks well to the cigar.
The pepper is
still very present, but remains white until the end.
My tastings
consisted of two 12.7 cm Conte vitolas for a 52 cepo and two 15.25 cm Marques
vitolas for a 50 cepo.
As for the
composition, the Clan preferred to keep the ancestral recipe a secret; which I
can understand, I don't give away my family recipe for Liege balls either! All
I know is that the casing is from Nicaragua and that the cigars are made
from carefully selected tobacco from independent plantations in Nicaragua,
Costa Rica and Honduras.
Conclusion: this is a cigar with a mild character and medium
intensity that is just right and perfect in terms of construction, draw and
burn mechanism. I can't say that this made me travel for a long time, but I
enjoyed these tastings. In fact, I restocked my cellars. The only minor flaw,
not for me, but for some friends and connoisseurs, is that metallic sensation.
This cigar is suitable for all types of aficionados and at different times of
the day.
So, I encourage you to do your own experiment and let me
have your feedback below this article.
I would like to personally thank Melissa Meerapfel for her
technical assistance in writing this article.
Price at time of writing: 11 euros (Conte) & 12 euros (Marques).