I believe that many things affect the properties of tobacco, including preconceptions of the smoker.

You're right, the composition of the soil in which they are grown is one of them, as is the actual variety of tobacco (cuban seed), fertilizer applied, harvest method, curing method, fermentation method, etc.....

Search the interweb and I bet you could find some serious debate on just how much the genetic "lineage" of tobacco seeds has to do with the finished product, outside of disease/drought resistance that is.