Reviews / Tepanal Arroqueño
Review · · by The Editors
Tepanal Arroqueño
Sola de Vega arroqueño at 50% – Rafa García's weight class
Score: 4.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Tepanal Agave Spirits
- Maestro: Rafael "Rafa" García Aragon
- Region: Santa María Sola, Oaxaca
- Agave: Arroqueño
- ABV: 50%
- Price: $150 ($$)
Verdict
Arroqueño rewards proof and clay, and Rafa García Aragon gives it both. At 50% the mid-palate has real architecture, and the barro still contributes the texture that makes arroqueño distinct from every other Karwinskii-free Oaxacan agave. This is where arroqueño should be priced – and Tepanal hits the quality. Buy it before the name travels further.
Arroqueño at 50% in clay – the agave at its proper weight
Tasting notes
Nose: Cooked pineapple, dark chocolate, wet clay, a mineral depth
Palate: 50% and clay-pot distillation give this the oily weight arroqueño was built for – cooked-fruit sweetness, chocolate depth, the clay contributing a river rock texture the agave fills out
Finish: Mineral, chocolate – very long
The bottom line
The arroqueño to buy at its tier. Hunt it