Reviews / Cuentacuentos Espadin - Miguel Ángel Cruz Rios
Review · · by The Editors
Cuentacuentos Espadin - Miguel Ángel Cruz Rios
Miguel Ángel Cruz Ríos's espadín – the Cuentacuentos release at the top, and a the bottle the category aims at single-maestro bottling
Score: 5.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Cuentacuentos
- Maestro: Miguel Ángel Cruz Rios
- Region: Sola de Vega, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 48%
- Price: $70 ($)
Verdict
Defines the upper tier single-maestro work. Miguel Ángel Cruz Ríos's espadín for Cuentacuentos is one of the category's reference cultivated-agave bottlings, the saline-mineral register, structural depth, and production discipline are what separate reference espadín from premium. Cuentacuentos's Guerrero-Oaxaca portfolio is consistently strong, but this espadín is the bottle that sets the producer's standard. Reviewer consensus aligns. Track it down.
A specialty-importer espadín at the top of the category
Tasting notes
Nose: Cooked agave with warm stone underneath, green herb, citrus peel, mineral damp and a faint saline undertone
Palate: Densely composed at 48% – the producer's signature discipline fully expressed. Cruz Ríos's intent shows through in every production decision from pit management through distillation cuts; the bottle carries a saline-chalky register across the palate that few specialty espadíns reach
Finish: Endless. Saline, drying, stone, with a slow herb fade
The bottom line
Benchmark espadín. Take it