Reviews / Tepanal Tobala
Review · · by The Editors
Tepanal Tobala
Tobalá in clay pot at 50% – the architecture the agave requires
Score: 4.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Tepanal Agave Spirits
- Maestro: Rafael "Rafa" García Aragon
- Region: Santa María Sola, Oaxaca
- Agave: Tobala
- ABV: 50%
- Price: $165 ($$)
Verdict
Tobalá in clay at 50% is a Sola-de-Vega configuration most commercial producers avoid because it costs more agave and more time. Rafa García doesn't avoid it. The result is a tobalá with body most bottles lack and aromatics most bottles envy. At Tepanal's pricing, this is one of the best-value tobalás currently imported.
Tobalá at 50% in clay – most brands wouldn't commit this hard
Tasting notes
Nose: Honey with white flowers, a mineral thread
Palate: 50% and barro give tobalá more body than most copper-still versions – floral sweetness layered over a wet slate clay texture, the proof keeping the aromatics lifted
Finish: Floral, wet slate – very long
The bottom line
The clay-pot tobalá to buy. Hunt it