It is extremely wealthy on the palate, coating, deeply honeyed and filled with golden raisins. The second sip is barely mineral with a splash of white pepper and miles dulces, the “candy honeys” dripping from the agave when roasting.
BOTTLE DETAILS
- DISTILLER: Tequila Los Abuelos (NOM 1493)
- MASH BILL: 100% Weber blue agave
- AGE: 6 months
- YEAR: 2024
- PROOF: 93 (46.5% ABV)
- MSRP: $199
- BUY ONLINE: It will not be launched till late September, and even then, retailers aren’t assured they will get it.
STEVE’S NOTES
SHARE WITH: Tequila lovers who will admire this uncommon and coveted pour.
WORTH THE PRICE: Sure.
BOTTLE, BAR OR BUST: Get a bottle if you happen to can, however if you happen to ever see it on a bar, purchase it if the bottle is not too depleted.
OVERALL: Fortaleza Winter Mix is among the most extremely coveted releases within the tequila class. It is already tough to seek out common releases of blanco, reposado, anejo and Nonetheless Energy from an artisanal model producing solely 36,000 9-liter instances yearly. At roughly 10,400 bottles (about 866 9-liter instances), you start to see how small this launch is.
If you’d like a good suggestion of simply how coveted Fortaleza is, know that two vehicles filled with Fortaleza blanco and reposado instances have been stolen final yr en path to the U.S. The theft amounted to almost 5 p.c of the distillery’s annual quantity. That is how loopy it is turn into.
And, in fact, the social media angst over the Winter Mix is worse than ever. A pal who joined me and several other others on this yr’s press go to to style WB 24, posted a video of himself and another content material suppliers lazily yukking it up after we might accomplished the tasting. Some who noticed the publish referred to as him just a few selection phrases and blamed him for including to the never-requited need of some to style this launch. Translation: He was mad that he did not get in on the enjoyable.
However sufficient of the craziness. Let’s get into how that is made and the way it tastes.
Winter Mix begins, as all the time, with 92 proof Fortaleza Nonetheless Energy blanco, which was poured into French oak casks that beforehand held cream sherry. After 4 months, the barrels have been dumped, the liquid was mingled and returned to the barrels for 4 extra months. The barrels have been dumped and mingled as soon as extra, after which mingled with a number of barrels of Fortaleza reposado (some have been aged for 3 months, others 10 months). The ultimate yield was 7,800 liters.
We tasted this on the distillery in Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico, out on the tip of a artifical peninsula in a big retention pond. It is an exquisite spot which is shaded by an outdated and big tamarind tree. There was a relentless however mild breeze that, nice because it was to our sweaty necks, tended to steal a variety of the aroma from the glasses earlier than us. In my notes I wrote, “TASTE THIS AGAIN WHEN YOU GET HOME.”
Out within the open on the water, I nosed aromas comparable to cooked agave, nutmeg, oak, nuts and baked croissant. It was medium dry on the palate and wealthy with golden raisins, roasted agave, pineapple and spice from the French oak casks. Regardless of the brevity of my notes, I liked it. I believed it subtle, complicated and perfect for gradual sipping with charcuterie or seafood.
Fortunately, everybody was despatched residence with a 375ml of the Winter Mix, which I opened just a few weeks later. As anticipated, it was totally different within the breeze-free confines of my workplace. To wit:
The nostril is vivid and fruity, redolent of cooked agave and agua miel (liquid created by washing roasted, crushed agave to gather its sugars after which fermented). It is properly herbaceous, flippantly floral and extremely citrusy (lemon and lime peels). Slightly mint and papaya wriggle in earlier than ending with golden apple. This bouquet is indicative of the aroma of manufacturing at Fortaleza.
It is extremely wealthy on the palate, coating, deeply honeyed and filled with golden raisins. The second sip is barely mineral with a splash of white pepper and mieles dulces, the “candy honeys” dripping from the agave when roasting. The affect of a number of barrels dominates the end however pleasantly so: fascinating tannic complexity with out a lot dryness. The ultimate sip brings plentiful floral character earlier than one other wave of mieles dulces rushes in. It’s excellent, a tequila launch worthy of the hunt.
BRAND NOTES
As of but, there aren’t any model notes.
Disclaimer: Bourbon & Banter acquired a pattern of this product from the model for evaluation. We admire their willingness to permit us to evaluation their merchandise with no strings connected. Thanks.
