Review: Montagave Heritage Blanco Tequila

One quick glance at the bottle’s golden pink hued liquid shows Montagave Heritage Blanco is not your typical transparent uncolored blanco tequila.  My bottle is from Lote 404.  The Montagave tequila story began in 2019 when Lucie and John Melvin looked for a way to mesh her French and his Texan heritage for their upcoming wedding.  They settled on maturing a single estate tequila in a single fill Cabernet Sauvignon French oak barrel sourced from a French winemaker, to serve at their wedding.  John had previously worked at Andalusia Whiskey Distillery a single malt, grain to glass distillery in Blanco Texas, so it didn’t take long to start planning on creating their own tequila brand.  John and Lucie partnered with Master Distiller Salvador Rosales Trejo and Cascahuin Distillery in El Arsenal Jalisco Mexico to craft the tequila.  The Rosales family began distilling tequila in 1904 and now their fourth generation continues the family legacy.  Montagave is made from 100% agave grown in the valley and deep mineral rich well water.  Once trimmed the pinas are brick oven cooked for 72 hours.  A roller mill extracts the juice which is naturally fermented in an open air stainless steel container.  A double pot still distillation follows.  The spirit is then aged for 45 days in Grand Cru Bordeaux barrels.  Some of the earlier Lote’s only sat in a barrel 29 days.  14 barrels are used in each batch.  9 first fill Pape Clement wine barrels and 5 second fill Bordeaux barrels.  Once matured the tequila barrels are blended, and bottling additive free at 82 proof.  The aroma leads with cooked agave.  Additional time brings out oak, vanilla, red berry, citrus, and pepper.  The sweet cooked agave, grape, and citrus entry builds to a tart citrus, red berry, and buttery agave peak.  It fades with lemon, raspberry, caramel, and earthy agave, and finishes with oak, saline, citrus peel, grape, and pepper.

NOM: 1123

Agave Region: Lowland

41% Alcohol

Score: 90

Award: Silver