BACKGROUND: After several years in the making, a new line of Arturo Fuente cigars has hit the market recently and its called the Rosado Sungrown Magnum R. One of the keys to this cigar's uniqueness is the extremely old Ecuadorian wrapper culled from the lower primings of the plant. According to Fuente, the Ecuadorian wrapper was grown 8-10 years ago when Fuente first created their Sun Grown line. The Magnum R’s wrappers, however, are from much lower on the plant, which accounts for its milder character.

The wrappers have a reddish brown hue—hence the Rosado moniker. "It's the original John Oliva wrapper from Ecuador," said Carlos Fuente Jr., president of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. We set these wrappers aside when we first created the [Arturo Fuente] Sun Grown line [about 10-years ago]."

While Fuente has released many cigars made with mid to upper primings of Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, the wrappers used on the Rosado Magnum R are from much lower on the plant, the second and third primings.

Carlito said he intended to go old school with this blend, moving away from the power trend that he helped create and come up with a very balanced and elegant smoke. Said Fuente, "They have a sweet, long finish. It's very flavorful, very complex—it's my father's idea of what a good cigar should be."
The cigars sport an entirely redesigned Fuente cigar band, which is reminiscent of the Fuente Añejo band. The Rosado comes in three sizes, today's featured stick is the 5-inch by 52 ring, T52 Robusto.

TASTING NOTES: The cigar starts with a toasty cedar flavor backed by sweet, tangy spice on the retrohale. There is a nice long and earthy finish on the palate that makes for a great impression. An auspicious beginning for a cigar that is touted to be tamer than the other Fuente sun grown's. When you retrohale a good dose of the smoke, this cigar provides a warm relaxed feeling, not unlike sipping on a fine scotch.

The burn and draw on this Robusto were both excellent and I was able to get a good volume of smoke through the stick. The light gray ash was so firm I had to break it off at the 1-inch mark; this stick showed rock solid construction.

This cigar was medium in body and medium-full in flavor. It is fairly light as regards strength, but that is of little import, given the rewarding flavors and performance.

The Fuente Rosado Sun Grown Magnum R is a great new production cigar that is worth every cent of its $5.40 price tag. I believe this cigar will appeal to a wide range of smoker preferences. It is medium in body and strength and full in flavor and is well-constructed. Be sure to look for these smokes and give one a try, I think you'll be glad you did.

~Doc