Overall, the Decenio Gordo scored a very respectable 88. The first two-thirds performed quite well, while the final third was a little more on the mediocre side. It’s going to deliver you a very classic San Andres profile – earth, cocoa, mineral, etc. There was nothing really groundbreaking or revolutionary about this cigar. It could have scored a little better on burn and draw. In the end, I found the Decenio Gordo to be a cigar I would recommend trying a sample of before purchasing. At the same time, there was enough going on with this blend that I would definitely try some of the other sizes.

Score: 88

The cigar began with toasted oak, earth, black pepper and a bit of cocoa powder. Some light creaminess joined a bit later, then the black pepper mellowed a bit. The second third saw the pepper mellow some more and the creaminess departed. Later, the cocoa powder departed and the earth became pretty dry. The pepper became pretty mellow as well. The final third saw the pepper pick back up a bit and the earth became even with the toasted oak up front. Later, a decent level of minerality and vegetal bitterness joined in. Construction was absolutely perfect. The AJ Fernandez New World Decenio Robusto had a nice start, with full flavor and was full bodied. As the second third began, the body mellowed a fair amount and components began dropping out, creating a fairly average profile and it remained that way for the rest of the cigar. It was like a switch got flipped as the second third began and all of the good components of the profile were drained out. Pretty disappointing as it was doing well up to that point. I wouldn’t see this as a cigar to come back to unless the others experienced a more consistent profile of what I experienced early on.

I wouldn’t have pegged this as a Mexican wrapper simply because most of those are Maduro and this appears to be in the Colorado color range. It had a rich earthy aroma to, while the foot had a mix of earth, chocolate, and cedar notes. The cold draw had notes of hay and wood, with a slight chocolatey sweetness. Firing up, I got mild earthy and sharp cedar and cinnamon spice up front, while the cocoa notes were just under the surface. The was tons of pepper spice on the nose, a hallmark of AJ’s blending style.