Reviews / La Maliciosa Reposado
Review · · by The Editors
La Maliciosa Reposado
Oak-aged espadín at 42%, barrel does the talking, agave watches
Score: 2.5/5 agaves
- Producer: La Maliciosa Mezcal
- Maestro: Celso Martínez López
- Region: Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 42%
- Price: $55 ($)
Verdict
Reposado espadín at 42% is the format's whole problem in one bottle, the oak works, the agave doesn't, and the maestro's best effort is buried under a barrel strategy. Celso Martínez López can do more than this; the reposado choice is the bottler's, not his. Skip it and buy any Matatlán joven. No consensus on file; our 2.5 reflects a category we think shouldn't exist.
Reposado mezcal keeps promising it's a category and keeps being a product decision
Tasting notes
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, oak char, a faint cooked-agave hum, dried coconut
Palate: Soft and a touch thin at 42%. Six-to-eight months in oak puts vanilla and caramel out front; the espadín base is legible only as a ghost behind the wood
Finish: Medium, sweet, with a slow oak fade
The bottom line
Skip. The reposado format flatters oak, not agave