第一名：富恩特巨著X城堡珍藏系列
這是一款7英寸長,，48環(huán)徑粗的大雪茄,，得分97分,，在美國的售價是每支19.15美元,，全多米尼加煙葉卷制,。
20世紀(jì)80年代時,，一名巴黎的雪茄零售商和小卡洛斯·富恩特打趣說：你不算雪茄制造商,，你是在組裝煙草,。當(dāng)時,，富恩特公司的話事人還是小卡洛斯的父親,，小卡洛斯用各種產(chǎn)地的煙葉來卷制雪茄。年輕的小卡洛斯對此有點不以為然,，他覺得茄衣煙葉很關(guān)鍵,。那時候，市面上基本沒有多米尼加種植的茄衣煙葉,，但這卻成為年輕的卡洛斯的癡迷,。如今，小卡洛斯成為了富恩特家族的首領(lǐng)和富恩特雪茄公司的老大,。
如果說當(dāng)年這個略帶嘲諷的對話是巨著X雪茄故事的序幕,，那么第一章要始于上世紀(jì)90年代，小卡洛斯開啟了他在多米尼加共和國種植優(yōu)質(zhì)茄衣煙葉的雄心壯志計劃,。老觀點認(rèn)為,，多米尼加的土壤不適合培育優(yōu)質(zhì)的蓋葉，在很大程度上是這樣,，但小卡洛斯試圖打破這個觀點,。
1991年，他選擇好恰當(dāng)?shù)耐寥篱_始培育科羅霍種子煙葉,，種出一種獨特的茄衣煙葉,，富有華麗的紅色色澤,、令人羨慕的彈性、豐富的香味,、力度更強的口味,。這塊土地是位于博諾的如今稱為富恩特城堡的一個農(nóng)場，這里的土質(zhì)和多米尼加共和國的其他種植區(qū)不太一樣,。土壤更輕,，更滑潤，粘土含量更高,。
1995年11月,，美國紐約的一個寒冷的夜晚，曼哈頓一家雪茄零售店外一隊長長的人群在等待,，這是巨著X上市日,。在那個夜晚，一個狂熱的經(jīng)典雪茄誕生了,。
巨著X系列問世時,，當(dāng)時雪茄市場還是以溫和輕柔口味為主，巨著X系列是一款口味相對濃烈的雪茄,。如今,，在成熟的雪茄市場，巨著X系列面臨著更多同類的競爭對手,。但它仍然獨具特質(zhì),，質(zhì)感淳厚，辛辣而不刺鼻,，每一口都飽含烘焙香料,、肉豆蔻、香草的濃郁甜味,，口味的強度和優(yōu)雅感的平衡之妙讓人吃驚,，這些是我們評選它成為今年的年度最佳雪茄的原因。
巨著X系列的故事是一個被世人認(rèn)為不可能的茄衣的故事,。最終,，富恩特向世界證明了傳統(tǒng)觀點的錯誤，創(chuàng)造了一個令人贊嘆的全多米尼加煙葉卷制的雪茄品牌,，這一點的意義遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過這個品牌的其他方面。
“You’re not a cigarmaker. You just assemble tobaccos,” quipped a Parisian retailer in the 1980s. He was talking to Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr., now owner and patriarch of Arturo Fuente Cigar Co. Back then, the company was owned by his father and the Fuentes were producing cigars with tobacco from different origins. The snide remark stuck with the younger Fuente, and he knew the problem was wrapper. Dominican wrapper was nearly nonexistent, and this became the young Fuente’s obsession.
If that derisive comment was the prologue to the OpusX story, chapter one began in the early 1990s with the ambitions of Fuente Jr. and his plan to grow quality wrapper leaf in the Dominican Republic. Conventional wisdom dictated that Dominican soils were unsuitable for growing good cover leaf. And this was for the most part true. But Fuente was on a mission, and when he finally planted the right Corojo seeds in the right plot of land in 1991, the result was a unique wrapper with a gorgeous reddish hue, enviable elasticity, big aroma and even bigger flavor. What is now known as Chateau de la Fuente is a farm located in Bonao, where the soil differs from other growing regions in the Dominican Republic. It’s lighter and loamier with a higher clay content.
Fast forward to a chilly November evening in New York City in 1995. A line of people hoping to enter a Manhattan cigar shop extended all the way around the block. It was premiere night and cigar fans of all professional stripes waited in the cold for their chance to try an OpusX. On that night, a cult classic and cigar phenomenon was born.
When OpusX was released, it was a strong cigar in a mostly mild market. Today, it has a lot more competition in the full-bodied segment, yet OpusX remains relevant—and coveted. It’s leathery and assertively spicy without being harsh. Every puff is inlaid with an opulent sweetness of baking spices, nutmeg and vanilla. The balance of power and elegance is astounding and precisely why it’s our Cigar of the Year. Because the ring gauge of the Reserva d’Chateau is somewhat slim, the wrapper plays a major role in the smoking experience. Ultimately, the story of OpusX was about a wrapper that was thought to be unfeasible. In the end, Fuente proved everyone wrong and created a stunning, all-Dominican cigar that’s much more than the sum of its parts.
