Review: Tequila Ocho Single Estate Plata 2009
Tequila Ocho Single Estate Plata 2009 was produced as a collaboration between Thomas Estes and Carlos Camarena. To understand the significance of this tequila one must first understand the concept of terroir. Terroir is a French term that is defined as the set of all environmental factors that affect a particular crop. Those factors include soil, climate, sunlight, and topography. Terroir is the basis of the French wine appellation d’origine controlee system. Terroir has been used to differentiate coffee, tobacco, and yes even marajuana. By crafting tequila with agave grown from a different Highland Estate each year, and employing the same production methods, Tequila Ocho hopes to prove tequila terroir is more than the black and white Highland and Lowland designation currently used. The 2009 bottling comes from the Las Pomez Estate located 2055 meters above sea level. Once harvested the pina’s are cooked in brick ovens around 80-85 degrees celcius for 48 hours. The juice that results from the first 8 hours of cooking is discarded because of its bitter taste. The cooked Pina’s sit in the oven for another 24 hours before they are transferred to the mill where the agave is squeezed to separate the juices from fibers. The juice is fermented in small 3000 liter open wooden vats made of pine for 4-5 days. The first distillation is in a 3500 liter stainless steel pot still. The second occurs in a 300 liter copper pot still. This is done slowly at low temperatures. The copper material of the second still imparts a special mouth feel and flavor. Read more 