Reviews / Mina Real Reposado
Review · · by The Editors
Mina Real Reposado
The Minas blanco aged down to 40% – a backward step
Score: 3.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Mina Real Mezcal
- Maestro: Germaín Arellanes Santos
- Region: Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $46 ($)
Verdict
A reposado Minas at 40% is a strange bottle – the clay-pot work is visible but the proof and the oak argue against everything the town does best. Germaín Arellanes Santos has the Blanco as proof he can make this liquid sing at proper ABV; this version is a catalog filler. One reviewer at 3.5 is generous; we come in at the Blanco does the work and the Reposado undoes it.
Aging Minas clay-pot at 40% is a category error
Tasting notes
Nose: Oak, cooked agave, vanilla, faint mineral
Palate: 40% clay-pot espadín with light oak – the wood sits on top of the chalky Minas character rather than marrying it, and the proof drop pulls the structure out
Finish: Woody, sweet-leaning. Medium
The bottom line
Buy the Blanco; leave the Reposado
Where to buy online
We found this bottle at 3 US retailers. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.