The 1997 Vintage Connecticut Shade wrapper is from a crop that many consider the best in decades. The rich brown wrappers went through two winter "sweats" in the curing sheds in Connecticut before Daniel Nunez determined which leaves could be classified as Vintage 1997. The San Andrean binder was selected from the best of the highly rated 1998 crop. The binder leaves are "Medio Tiempo" which means they were left on the plant 50% longer than normal to ripen, allowing the leaves to become heavy in texture, dark in color and fuller flavored in taste. The leaves are taken from the upper primings which offer a fuller taste than those from past Vintage years.
