A pivotal part of the Arturo Fuente story in the last 30 years was the moment Fuente family boss Don “Carlito” Carlos Fuente Junior decided that his family would begin to grow tobacco on its own farm in the Dominican Republic, as opposed to buying or importing it from growers and wholesalers elsewhere.
After a few test harvests, Carlito purchased 37 acres of mineral-rich farmland in the island nation’s Bonao Valley from legendary tobacco grower Angel Oliva. The relatively small plot of land and the family’s associated factory in Santiago grew in size over the years and began to change the fortunes of Arturo Fuente, despite setbacks in the form of fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Carlito renamed the farmland Chateau de la Fuente, and today, it’s a well-known, manicured, 300-acre estate that’s respected as much for its contributions to the local community as for its ultra-premium tobaccos, which are renowned all over the world.
These tobaccos — drawn from the Fuente family’s private reserve — are what’s contained in this Double Chateau Fuente vitola, which utilizes a silky Connecticut shade-grown wrapper and a Dominican binder. The result is a smoothly drawing, evenly burning, well-constructed cigar with mild-to-medium strength and a Churchill shape. Flavor notes detected include vanilla, wood, grass and nutmeg, topped by an extended floral finish. In 2015, Cigar Aficionado accorded this vitola a rating one point shy of 90.
The Double Chateau Fuente vitola is exactly 1.5 times as long as the standard Chateau Fuente vitola and is the same ring gauge. So if you want a sumptuous, pleasant way to sample some of the best tobaccos the Chateau has to offer, this cigar is a good place to start.