Reviews / Palenqueros Espadin - Alberto Ortiz

Review · · by The Editors

Palenqueros Espadin - Alberto Ortiz

Don Beto Ortiz espadín under a specialist label – this is the Ortiz bottle to buy

Score: 4.0/5 agaves

Palenqueros Espadin - Alberto Ortiz bottle
  • Producer: Palenqueros
  • Maestro: Alberto Ortiz
  • Region: Santa Maria La Pila, Oaxaca
  • Agave: Espadin
  • ABV: 49%
  • Price: $70 ($)

Verdict

Alberto Ortiz turns up on several bottles across the category, most of them with brands on the label rather than the maestro. Palenqueros does the right thing and puts him on the front. The result is an espadín that makes the case for named-maestro bottling in the first place: you can hear the producer's voice through the liquid. Buy this over the house espadín above it.

When the hand is this clean, the agave does the talking – and Ortiz has one of the cleaner hands in Oaxaca

Tasting notes

Nose: Cooked agave, river stone, chamomile, light smoke

Palate: 49% of Ortiz's characteristic clean-faced espadín, the maestro's signature is restraint, and the mid-proof lets it read. Nothing flashy, everything considered

Finish: Mineral, quietly sweet, long

The bottom line

Buy. The Ortiz bottle to own if you're only going to own one

Where to buy online

We found this bottle at 1 US retailer. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.

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