La Familia Don Valente
Our previous winner, and my heretofore favorite blanco, Espolón, goes up against two formidable challengers: Los Abuelos Blanco (lot 2), and Don Valente Blanco Artesanál. Wow, right? That is a tough field. Sort of like the NFC East.
The Abuelos, aka La Fortaleza is renowned by aficionados. (If you have followed the blog you know I have been trying to get my hands on this for months). It's master-distiller and brand-ambassador is Guillermo Sauza, the fifth generation of Tequila's famous Sauza family. He makes this tequila on one small prime piece of land, in a vintage distillery. The Agave juice esta molido de tahona -- extracted with the ancient stone pressing wheel. There is no doubt that this Tequila feels hand-made; from the beatiful blown-glass bottle with antique-styled label, to the small-batch numbered lots. By comparison, Patrón produces something like 100-times the number of bottles.
Apparently there's something I'm not getting here. This is one of the Holy Grails of tequila, and I dunno, maybe my pallette is not yet refined enough for el ultimo --the very finest of the fine. It seems strong on alcohol - quite hot. The nose is floral and the taste is pretty pungent. I taste citrus and nuts and earth, even oak, which I can't figure out being that it's a blanco. But all the while it seems to be missing the big agave core and spirit that I crave. And there's the undertone of a tang, almost a weird sour tang that I can't seem to shake. It's pretty smooth and the finish is smooth. It doesn't bite but it does burn, with a strong presence of alcohol. Maybe I'd like the repo or anejo better. So, despite everything, I'm thinking I won't go out of my way to get this again, and believe-you-me, I went way way out of my way to score this bottle (and so did another guy, Thanks, Krys!)
I liked the Don Valente. It has a light mouth feel and overall has a lighter, sweeter character. It has minimal alcohol presence, and virtually NO burn. The DV exhibits what I expect; a nice agave body and a nutty, sweet flavor of caramel and vanilla. A very nice sipper, if not just a bit mild-mannered. Wish I could get it around here.
On to the Champ, Espolón. I still think this one holds up to any good blanco. In fact, I love the whole Espolón line. I am heartened that the new Cabo Wabo will be made by the same distillery. This is bold with intense citrus agave and spice. It has more alcohol than the Don Valente, and has a bit of an ashy finish. This is why I like Espie on ice.
Between the Espolón and the Valente, this is going to be a close call. I will have another one-on-one taste of these.
OK, the Espolón is less sweet and more peppery - a little hotter overall. As a pure sipper, the Valente wins. It's really delightful -- sweet, smooth and buttery. There's basically nothing NOT to like about the DV. It's a happy tequila!
"Olé! Soy Alegre!"
The DV wins by half a penca!
Don Valente Blanco Artesanál: 4 Pencas
Espolón Silver: 3.5 Pencas
Los Abuelos Blanco (lot 2): 3 Pencas
