OpusX Reserva D’Chateau

Today, I will be taking a look at a cigar that has been in my humidor for a few years now, the Fuente Fuente OpusX Reserva D’Chateau. This cigar is from 2007 and one of the reasons I am reviewing it is I believe that OpusX cigars really turn into something beautiful in that 3-5 year period of age. I find it to be their sweet spot, so to speak. Too often I hear people say that they bought an OpusX cigar and smoked it and just weren’t that impressed at all, they wonder what all the hype is about. To these people I say, buy some OpusX and age them for at least 3 years and then give them a try. You will certainly see that the hype is justified.

• Cigar Reviewed: Fuente Fuente OpusX Reserva D’Chateau
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
• Wrapper: Dominican Chateau de la Fuente Sun Grown Rosado
• Binder: Dominican Chateau de la Fuente Sun Grown Rosado
• Filler: Dominican Chateau de la Fuente Sun Grown Rosado
• Size: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Churchill
• MSRP: $14 (Boxes of 32, $448)
• Date Released: 2007
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 1

The pre-light aroma is a gorgeous cedar and barnyard aroma with a ton of cinnamon, I mean a TON of cinnamon. When I was a child my parents had an ornament on the Christmas tree that was shaped like a gingerbread man and it smelled of cinnamon and gingerbread and this is EXACTLY what it reminds me off, just a fantastic aroma! The pre-light draw has a lot of that cinnamon from the aroma but also a very distinct aged cedar taste. It taste like what the inside of a humidor smells like if that makes sense. Visually this cigar is perfect. It has a perfectly applied triple cap and a beautiful Sun Grown wrapper that is very uniform in color. You literally can’t see the seams and the pack is perfect, not too soft but not too hard. I am very excited to smoke this cigar.

Starting off in the first third the cigar fired up like kindling and hit me with a blast of spice and pepper that tingled all the way down my throat into the finish. Initial flavors were a nice oak wood and toasty tobacco notes. The finish is extremely long and peppery. Coming into the second third the flavors completely open up and I get a ton of complexity. There are bits of creamy sweetness, a deep oaky wood flavor, hints of leather and cinnamon. The spice and pepper has died down considerably from the last third but are still noticeable. The finish just goes on for days and has lots of cinnamon and nutmeg as well as a bit of a pepper kick. The construction at this point is great. Finishing up in the final third the flavors change a bit. The oaky wood flavor I have been getting as turned into a mellow cedar and a lot of the cinnamon spice has disappeared. There are still rich flavors going on coffee, toasted tobacco, nuts, and leather comes into play. The flavors are all perfectly balanced and the profile is mellow but rich in flavor. The spice and pepper has diminished to almost nothing and the cigar never heats up or gets mushy on me. The Aroma coming off the cigar is very sweet and spicy and offers even more complexity to the experience.

Final Notes

• Personally I think this is text book opus after a few years. I just absolutely love what happens to OpusX cigars after 3-5 years in the humidor. I truly believe that it’s the best time to smoke an OpusX. The tough part is they are so hard to age because really they are good right off the truck but to truly experience an OpusX you should let them sit for a while.
• The flavor profile was full of complexity; you never get bored at any point because each third is almost like a brand new experience. The spice and pepper amps up and the dies down perfectly and the flavors morph into a creamy smoothness by the end of the smokes.
• Final Smoking Time was one hour 30 minutes.

Steve Valle

Steve Valle wrote for Smoking Stogie, a precursor to halfwheel, from 2010-2011.