5 Sentidos Tepextate - Benigno & Javier

Verdict

We're cautious about tepextate below 48% as a rule, and this is one of the bottles that proves exceptions exist. The collaboration between García (from San Isidro) and Vasquez reads clean, and the San Isidro palenque's mineral signature carries the liquid. Two consensus ratings at 4.5 match our read. Compared with a Vago tepextate or a Rey Campero wild release, this is more delicate but not lighter in character.

Tasting notes

Nose: White flower, wet chalk, green melon, faint celery

Palate: Tepextate under 48% is normally a red flag; at 46.2% this release skirts the edge, but Benigno García and Javier Vasquez make the proof work through long cooking and careful distillation – the aromatics extend, the mid-palate has weight

Finish: Mineral and floral at the close

The bottom line

A two-maestro exception to our proof rule. One of the rare under-48% tepextates that lands