Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente

The Chateau Fuente was sent to me by our newest sponsor Cigars Direct. They have many hard to find cigars at good prices.

A little history lesson:

The Fuente family’s tobacco roots go back to the old world Cuba of the 1800’s. Arturo Fuente learned the art of cultivating tobacco and manufacturing handmade cigars from his father in Cuba. His son, Carlos, Sr., was virtually born into the cigar business in as much as his first home served as the Fuente cigar factory in Tampa. Carlos, Sr., worked at the factory everyday after school learning how to blend tobaccos and the ritual of rolling cigars by hand.

Not long after Carlos Sr. acquired the business from his father, Carlos Jr. was born and his early life was a mirror image of his father’s life. He, too, was born in the family’s home/factory. Each day, after school, he, too, worked at cigar blending and making cigars by hand. When producing cigars by hand became a lost art in Tampa, Carlos Sr. opened a factory in Nicaragua, but that fledging operation was burned to the ground by the rebel Sandanistas. Later, a second factory in Honduras was also demolished by fire.

In 1980 the Fuentes opened their first factory in the Dominican Republic with seven employees. The superior quality of the Arturo Fuente ® brand resulted in quickly establishing a loyal core of cigar customers which necessitated the building of a second factory. Today the Fuente family has over 1800 employees in four factories in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 4 1/2 x 50
Shape: Rothschild
Wrapper: Natural
Strength: Medium
Price: $77.00 (Buy Now)

Pre-light: These cigars have a rustic look to them. I notice a couple imperfections with the wrapper. It definitely is not sexy looking. The veins are small and the cap is off center a little. It has a little give when you pinch it (the way I like them).

The burn: The burn trailed some but always caught up for the most part. I did have one issue that needed an attitude adjustment. I would call the ash normal and would give the burn a 7 because it needed a correction. Maybe some time in the humidor will fix the burn.

The taste: It is definitely a medium body smoke. Cedar and nut describes the first half with a little spice in the background. Humi Blog stated he picked up a butter flavor that I didn’t think of but it jumped out at me when I read it. Once you get to the half way point the spice comes out more and you need to slow down on your puffing. It also turns a little thick with a leather.

Over all: I can not remember ever having a bad Fuente and this cigar is no exception. Besides being a good sized smoke for the upcoming winter it is just a good cigar. Being under $4 per smoke for a top of the line cigar just makes it that much better. This is a mans smoke. This reminds me of something a biker would smoke (don’t ask me why I say that, it just doe’s) Even with the burn issue I say buy, if it has to much spice for your liking it should settle with a nice nap in the humi. Thanks again to Cigars Direct for sending a box over to review.

What others say about the Chateau Fuente:

• HumiBlog’s review of the Chateau Fuente.
• Leafy Times review.
• Customers at Cigars Direct review this smoke.