Review Notes: I've been a longtime fan of HdM's Excalibur line, and was looking forward to this particular cigar for a while now. I purchased 5 and had one right away. It was so tight that I couldn't draw on it and gave up. I wondered if it had become dehydrated, so I left the others in my humidor for about 6 weeks and tried again. The result was better, but still not what I expected. The wrapper was beautiful, velvety, and a nice dark-chocolate color that set off the black/gold band beautifully. It was very firm when rolled between my fingers. The pre-light aroma was quintessentially maduro. This is obviously a high-end cigar. This little guy lit well and burned straight all the way to the end. However, the draw was still VERY tight, and I found that I had to continually "stoke" it by triple-puffing to even get smoke to draw into my mouth. This was a bit distracting and I felt like I had to baby the cigar to keep it alive. That said, the flavor was a little nutty, and at times I tasted blackberries and earth. But overall, the taste was understated and very mild. I wonder if the burn were hotter if the flavor would have been fuller..? I certainly didn't experience any of the "full body" or "spicy" taste that other here note. Apart from the "high maintenance" aspect of the smoke, there was nothing wrong at all with this cigar. I'll try another one in a few months and maybe it'll improve even more.