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I've wanted to build a reference thread in regards to the difference between maduro shade wrappers and the maduro wrapper process for a little while now, as I believe the terms can be a little confusing for the average cigar smoker. The main difference between these terms is in understanding that one of these is a reference to the colour or shade of the wrapper, the other represents the process undertaken to develop a wrapper for specific brands such as the Cohiba Maduro 5 series and the Partagas Maduro No.1. Wrappers come from shade-grown plants, with the lightest shades coming from the bottom of the plant and the darkest shades coming for the top of the plant as it gets the most sun. In order these are; Claro, Colorado Claro, Colorado, Colorado Maduro and Maduro. These distinctions describe the shading of the wrappers Maduro wrappers utilised in the Cohiba Maduro 5 series (released in 2007) come for the very top of these shade-grown plants, with extra aging (5 years) and fermentation required. These result in an added 'sweetness' 'to the flavour of the blend. The Partagas Maduro No.1 was released in 2015. Habanos S.A described this cigar as follows, 'The Partagas Maduro No.1 offers the smoker all the flavour and intensity of Partagas, with a very special wrapper, selected from the best leaves harvested from the top levels of the “ Shade-Grown ” tobacco plant and which has developed, after an additional period of fermentation, a texture and intense color that are the ideal complements to the full flavour blend of Maduro No.1'. And so, maduro wrappers in this sense differ from the shading reference above due to the process undertaken to produce these wrappers, which require extra aging and fermentation. What about Limited Edition cigars? Do these utilise maduro-shaded wrappers or technically-speaking, are they maduro-processed wrappers? The wrappers on the cigars are described thusly, 'Limited Edition wrappers are darker than those found on standard Habanos. Darker wrappers come from the leaves picked from the higher levels on shade-grown tobacco plants, which are thicker. Such leaves demand longer periods for fermentation and ageing so they are left in bales for at least two years before the cigars are made.' In my opinion, these are maduro-shaded wrappers that are a little sweeter than normal, helping to influence the common 'chocolate-y' flavour of Limited Edition cigars. (N.B. Information from this thread has been sourced from Habanos.com)