Reviews / Don Lorenzo Tepeztate
Review · · by The Editors
Don Lorenzo Tepeztate
Tepextate at 45%. The proof undersells, which is the category's recurring failure mode
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Don Lorenzo Mezcal
- Maestro: Alvaro Hernandez, Armando Hernandez Lorenzo
- Region: Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
- Agave: Tepextate
- ABV: 45%
- Price: $150 ($$)
Verdict
45% is the chronic category undersell on tepextate – the 25-year agronomy deserves 48%+ to show fully, and Don Lorenzo's proof choice falls into the pattern most mid-tier producers follow. The bottle holds together, the production is honest, but the proof is the ceiling. Buy Buen Camino's tepextate instead; 48% at similar money is the bottle that respects the agave's demands.
A mid-tier tepextate that runs into the same proof ceiling the whole category hits
Tasting notes
Nose: Wildflower, wet stone, white pepper
Palate: Aromatic at 45%. Tepextate's 25-year maturation deserves more structural support than 45% can give it; the character shows up legible but unemphatic – you hear the agave speak, but it's whispering
Finish: Cooling, drying, with a slow floral fade. Very long
The bottom line
Fine for category exposure; higher-proof tepextates do more