Maguey Melate Tepextate - Luis Enrique Juarez

Verdict

Luis Enrique Juárez is not the best-known name on this list, but his cut on this tepextate is as disciplined as anyone's. The refrescador still pulls a cooler, more lifted character than copper tends to, and at 48.6% the bottle has the proof to back up the aromatics. Buy it alongside Hermógenes Vásquez for a still-type comparison, you'll learn more from that pairing than from a year of reading tasting notes.

Tasting notes

Nose: Jasmine, then crushed melon rind, green pepper, quiet mineral, clean cut

Palate: 48.6% with Refrescador clarity, a lifted, aromatic tepextate that shows the fruit side of marmorata more than the stone side, never sloppy, never too polished

Finish: Long, clean, floral-stone

The bottom line

A new-name tepextate worth knowing