Saga Short Tales Tomo VII – Tales of the Land Navarrete – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Earlier this year, De Los Reyes announced the seventh cigar in the Saga Short Stories series: Saga Short Tales Tomo VII – Tales of the Land: Navarrete. Like the others in the line, it comes in only one size, this time a 5 x 52 box-pressed robusto. The blend uses a Nicaraguan habano wrapper, Dominican San Vicente binder and criollo 98, HVA and piloto cubano fillers. The cigars come in boxes that look like books that contain 10 cigars. Each cigar has an MSRP of $9.30. The Saga Short Tales Tomo VII debuted at PCA 2021.

The name comes from the town of Navarette, also known as Bisonó in the Dominican Republic 15 miles northwest of Santiago de los Caballeros. Navarette is the location of the field where the Reyes family harvested their first crop of piloto cubano tobacco.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Factory: De Los Reyes S.A.
Blender: Nirka Reyes
Number of reviewers: 4 – Sean F. (fullermaine) Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard) Matt Cade (CadeTNCC) Lauren S. (Lauren S.)
Price: $9.30
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: September 2021
Contributed by: De Los Reyes

Initial Impressions – Saga Short Tales Tomo VII – Tales of the Land Navarrete

Appearance: 88

“My first thought is this is one chunky stick. A short, fat box-pressed Robusto, guessing around a 5×54. Very rough to the touch and a light brown color.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Aroma: 88

“The wrapper reveals very little other than a muted toasted bread aroma; however, there is a faint sweetness detected when sniffing the open foot of the cigar directly.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The cinnamon notes on the cold draw have returned and pair well with the grassy notes.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“A raisin-like sweetness is highly evident on the wide open cold draw after clipping the cap. Upon setting the cigar on fire, first impressions are of a medium strength spice balanced with some mineral through the nose and a prominent leather note shining through via the draw. I was a bit worried that the draw would be too open prior to lighting up but, thankfully, those fears did not ring true as the overall construction in the first third is great on all fronts.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

Second Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The mineral flavors have begun to smooth out but nothing is taking its place. A slightly smoked mesquite flavor appears on the retro but through the second third, there is not a lot going on flavor wise. The burn is great and the ash is holding beautifully.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

“Smooth, notes of wood, leather and black tea” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)

Final Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Both the strength and body uptick to medium-full territory in the early goings of the final third. The retro becomes spice dominant shedding the once easily detected mineral and, to a much lesser extent, mint. And the draw’s core leather flavor has become bolder by the puff, completely bidding adios to the bread note that arose in the middle section. Now that the impressive balancing act from the first two thirds is gone, I’m sad. The cigar is still enjoyable but far less complex at this late stage of the smoking experience. But WAIT! Just when I thought I knew how this stogie would end, a vanilla note emerges and it makes a perfect dancing partner with the draw’s leather until the very end. Didn’t see that coming!” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

“Still nice mellow earth and mineral flavor along with just an occasional hint of black pepper but this is a very subtle blend. I’m almost missing the heavy harshness of the first third because I would like something more going on.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Overall Impressions – Saga Short Tales Tomo VII – Tales of the Land Navarrete

Draw: 94

“Perfection! No issues encountered!” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

Burn: 94

“The cigar’s burn was great throughout the smoking experience.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

Construction: 94

“Construct seemed solid with no cracking or burn issues. Was a well present box press.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 89

“I’m a big fan of box pressed cigar. Great light coffee wrapper. Great notes of cinnamon, black pepper, licorice, and earthy notes make a great pairing together. Smoked down to less than an inch, made we want another. A cigar I’d want in my humidor.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)

“This was a good smooth smoke, great burn, good combo of flavors. Would pair well with a strong cup of black tea in my opinion.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)

“I highly enjoyed this cigar from start to finish! While the retrohale’s flavors were the star of the show, the consistent notes experienced via the draw balanced everything out extremely well. Add in the overall stellar construction and I will certainly smoke this cigar again given the opportunity.” –Matt Cade (CadeTNCC)

“Overall if you are a fan of very earthy, mineral forward blends this will hit your palate well. It starts off a touch harsh but does smooth out after the first third. I would prefer more complexity but it is a solid earthy smoke from start to finish. The burn and ash were of nice quality and it was a much longer smoke than I would have guessed looking at it. Depending on the price I might revisit it in the future.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 96

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Saga Short Tales Tomo VII – Tales of the Land Navarrete – Blind Cigar Review