Reviews / Mina Real Blanco
Review · · by The Editors
Mina Real Blanco
Santa Catarina Minas in clay pot, at Minas proof
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Mina Real Mezcal
- Maestro: Germaín Arellanes Santos
- Region: Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 46%
- Price: $45 ($)
Verdict
Santa Catarina Minas is the zip code that made clay-pot mezcal famous, and Mina Real's Blanco is a straightforward reading of the town style, mineral, restrained, distinctly Minas rather than Matatlán-sweet. Germaín Arellanes Santos isn't reinventing the form, but the bottle is honest, properly proofed, and a reasonable gateway to the clay-pot discussion. Real Minero still sets the ceiling here.
Minas clay-pot espadín is a whole category. Mina Real is a credible entry into it
Tasting notes
Nose: Wet stone, then cooked agave, faint mint, mineral salt
Palate: 46% clay-pot espadín from Minas, the characteristic olla-de-barro viscosity and flinty character, clean-faced rather than exuberant
Finish: Medium-long, limestone, faintly briny
The bottom line
A first bottle worth trusting clay-pot bottle when Real Minero is out of reach