Tepanal Tobala, Arroqueño, Espadin & Coyote

Item: Tepanal Tobala, Arroqueño, Espadin & Coyote
Rating: 3.5
Author: The Editors

Four-agave ensamble at 50.3%, ambitious, less resolved than its sibling

Score: 3.5/5 agaves

Producer: Tepanal Agave Spirits
Maestro: Rafael "Rafa" García Aragon
Region: Santa María Sola, Oaxaca
Agave: Arroqueño, Coyote, Espadin, Tobala
ABV: 50.3%
Price: $150 ($$)

Verdict

Rafa García blends two different four-agave ensambles in his catalog. This one, with espadín and coyote in the mix, asks more of the blend than the other, and the consensus 3.0 suggests it doesn't always deliver. Our read is 3.5; the bottle is an interesting ensamble study but the sibling with mexicano-tobala-barril-tobasiche is the more coherent pour. Buy that one first.

The ambitious four-agave blend that doesn't quite land like its sibling

Tasting notes

Nose: Cooked agave, wet stone, green herb

Palate: 50.3% carries tobalá's lift, arroqueño's weight, espadín's sweetness, and coyote's karwinskii mineral signature, but the blend resolves less cleanly than the mexicano-tobala-barril-tobasiche version, with moments where one agave crowds another

Finish: River rock, complex – long

The bottom line

Pass. Buy the mexicano-tobala-barril-tobasiche ensamble instead