Reviews / Mal Bien Papalote Capón - Calzada
Review · · by The Editors
Mal Bien Papalote Capón - Calzada
Refugio Calzada's capón – the sweet-driven papalote we'd pick
Score: 4.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Mal Bien
- Maestro: Refugio Calzada Hernandez
- Region: Chilapa de Álvarez, Guerrero
- Agave: Papalote
- ABV: 47.1%
- Price: $70 ($)
Verdict
Capón papalote bottles vary more than capón producers will admit, and Refugio Calzada Hernandez makes a cleaner one than the Barranca capón – less overtly sweet, more structurally clear. At 47.1% it's at the proof floor we'd ask for a concentrated agave, and the cut keeps the bottle from turning syrupy. Honor the maestro and pour it slow.
If capón is the goal, Calzada runs the cleaner line
Tasting notes
Nose: Honeyed cooked agave, wildflower, light smoke, mineral
Palate: 47.1% of capón-concentrated cupreata through copper – denser and more dessert-leaning than the Barranca capón, but with a cleaner line and more defined mid-palate
Finish: Sweet-savory, warm. Long
The bottom line
The capón papalote to own