Reviews / Mezcalero No. 26
Review · · by The Editors
Mezcalero No. 26
Valente Angel García on arroqueño – the Mezcalero high-water mark
Score: 5.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Mezcalero Mezcal
- Maestro: Valente Angel García
- Region: Santa Maria La Pila, Oaxaca
- Agave: Arroqueño
- ABV: 47%
- Price: $70 ($$)
Verdict
Mezcalero No. 26 is Valente Angel García's arroqueño at the proof and purity the agave asks for, and the result is one of the great Mezcalero releases. This sits next to Memorable Arroqueño and the best Real Minero arroqueño on any wild-agave flight, category-reference work. Hunt it with intent.
If a wild-agave drinker asked us for one Mezcalero bottle, this would be the answer
Tasting notes
Nose: Dark chocolate, then roasted squash, tobacco, deep forest smoke
Palate: 47% with arroqueño's dense, resinous, cacao-edged weight fully expressed, the long cook of the heavy wild agave reads as concentrated sweetness and mineral depth, held steady by the proof
Finish: Cacao-deep, smoky – very long
The bottom line
If it's on the shelf, take it. A reference wild-agave bottle