Reviews / Fanekantsini Chato

Review · · by The Editors

Fanekantsini Chato

Pablo Olivera's heirloom chato at 50% – Jalisco's rarest agave, bottled by one of the few families keeping it in production

Score: 4.5/5 agaves

Fanekantsini Chato bottle
  • Producer: Fanekantsini
  • Maestro: Pablo Olivera
  • Region: San Miguel Suchiltepec, Oaxaca
  • Agave: Chato
  • ABV: 50%
  • Price: $60 ($)

Verdict

Hunt this bottle, chato predates the tequila monoculture, and drinking Pablo Olivera's version is an education in what Jalisco's agave landscape looked like before azul Weber flattened it. The production preserves that history with the discipline the bottle deserves. A reference Fanekantsini and a piece of liquid archaeology. Consensus 4.3 is close; we score 4.5.

Chato is the agave that predates the tequila industry

Tasting notes

Nose: Warm stone first, then then cooked agave, citrus peel, mineral depth, a faint dried-herb undertone

Palate: Dense, heirloom chato's specific character is unlike anything else in the mezcal/tequila conversation

Finish: Unending. Mineral, warm, cooling, with a slow citrus fade

The bottom line

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