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Rancho Tepua Lechuguilla

Rancho Tepua Lechuguilla is made from Agave shrevei in Sonora, Mexico by maestro vinatero Roberto Contreras.

Rating: (5 reviews)
Category:Destilado de Agave
Cost:$$$
Brand:Rancho Tepúa
Bacanorero:Roberto Contreras
Agave:Shrevei
Distillation:Copper, Steel
Style:Joven
State:Sonora
ABV: 48.1%
Batch size: Lot 1LEC20: 130 liters
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BacanoraRanchoTepua/, opens in new window

About this destilado de agave

Rancho Tepua Lechuguilla is made from Agave shrevei in Sonora, Mexico. Maestro vinatero Roberto Contreras harvests the agaves by hand with an ax. He then roasts the agaves for 48 hours in an underground pit oven, ferments them with spring water for 8-12 days, and distills in both copper and stainless steel.

The Texas Mezcal and Tequila Society (find them on Facebook!) imported a special batch of this. That batch 1LEC20 was produced in the summer of 2020 and was just 130 liters.

Rancho Tepúa

Rancho Tepua is produced by Maestro Vinatero Roberto Contreras at his vinata in Rancho Tepúa, Aconchi, in the state of Sonora. Roberto is a 5th generation Bacanorero and learned to produce Bacanora from his father, Don Lalo. His family produced Bacanora throughout the 77 year ban (1915-1992), by establishing a series of small hidden distilleries on the ranch. The word Tepúa refers to an ax in the language of the Opatas, an indigenous tribe that inhabited the Sonoran Sierra Madre Mountains long before the Spanish arrived. This small ax was the primary tool for harvesting the agave used in Bacanora production.

Member rating

3.6 out of 5

5 reviews

GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas

385 reviews
Rated 3 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Really excited to try this one. However, I wasnt expecting the off-the-wall flavors that I picked up. Major burnt rubber tire, fresh beachball smell, taste is acrid with some maple and sweet corn. Finish is a little rough but really, the rubber flavors in this keep this from being 4 stars.

James Christian

James Christian

45 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Didn’t get the lot number but it was from a recent bottle.
I’m not sure what to make of this one, but it’s delicious in a very weird way. Looking at the other reviews I agree to some extent. i get more piney/elder than anything coming through with some candied sweetness. This is definitely in the “novel agave” category in my head as it’s soooo different. I will probably get a bottle and then it will be a slow “every once in a while” sipper

Didn’t get the lot number but it was from a recent bottle.
I’m not sure what to make of this one, but it’s delicious in a very weird way. Looking at the other reviews I agree to some extent. i get more piney/elder than anything coming through with some candied sweetness. This is definitely in the “novel agave” category in my head as it’s soooo different. I will probably get a bottle and then it will be a slow “every once in a while” sipper

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TheAgaveFairy

TheAgaveFairy

169 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

NOTE: I was on the panel that helped pick this; my rating here is simply an average of what already exists as to not upset the site average.

Nose: A wonderful balance of clay, florality, and cream cheese. Slight nuttiness, almond butters, mild dried herbs like thyme, mint, tarragon. Lime peel, mildest of guanbana – not a particularly “fruity” distillate but sweetness shows nicely. Very cohesive nose, evolving all the time, cinammon sometimes come to, sometimes the nuttiness, sometimes more floral aspects, sometimes the agave. Fresher and brighter as it’s sitting.

Palate: Great texture for the proof, agave sweetness is really incredible, lots of minerality, nuttiness, herbal tones, all encased in a lactic [cream] cheese quality that really suits the whole image. I think of wonderful cheese and nut and cracker boards, the cohesiveness of the profile can’t be overstated. Mild acidity, like in a tangy yogurt and some more lime and cinnamon and soft peppercorn melange. The finish has those more earthy notes, florality, light mints.

Thoughts: I helped pick it, this producer is amazing and this is one of his best efforts. Fun to taste next to other top tier lechuguillas like Tavi Torres’ first batch with Sotoleros.

Conclusion and “t8ke” scale rating: N/A. The complexity and cohesiveness are stellar, and this is as good as I’ve ever tasted from Sonora.

NOTE: I was on the panel that helped pick this; my rating here is simply an average of what already exists as to not upset the site average.
Nose: A wonderful balance of clay, florality, and cream cheese. Slight nuttiness, almond butters, mild dried herbs like thyme, mint, tarragon. Lime peel, mildest of guanbana – not a particularly “fruity” distillate but sweetness shows nicely. Very cohesive nose, evolving all the time, cinammon sometimes come to, sometimes the nuttiness, sometimes more

Read more
Rakhal

Rakhal

421 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot 1LEC20. It’s really hard for me to rate this one. This is one of those chameleon Mezcals that changes flavors every time I taste it. I just sat down for the third time with this one and at first I taste leather and cinnamon oil, not the warm baking spices cinnamon that I taste often in Mezcals but the harsh spicy cinnamon oil we used to make cinnamon toothpicks with in grade school. Then as I scribble down my notes I take another sip and those flavors are gone and replaced with briny vegetal notes like green olives and green beans. On my third sip I taste rubber, burnt match, coconut flesh, and walnuts. As I finish my copita all I can taste is Apple Jolly Rancher. Crazy! I really enjoy tasting this one because it’s constantly challenging but I don’t see myself reaching for it too often. An extra point for uniqueness. I can’t wait to try future releases from this brand.

Lot 1LEC20. It’s really hard for me to rate this one. This is one of those chameleon Mezcals that changes flavors every time I taste it. I just sat down for the third time with this one and at first I taste leather and cinnamon oil, not the warm baking spices cinnamon that I taste often in Mezcals but the harsh spicy cinnamon oil we used to make cinnamon toothpicks with in grade school. Then as I scribble down my notes I take another sip and those flavors are gone and replaced with briny veget

Read more
Jonny

Jonny

700 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot 1LEC20. The nose has some herbal notes of basil, anise, and bay leaves. More aromas of white chocolate, peppermint, and chlorine. The palate has lots of anise, horseradish, cracked pepper, butterscotch, and brine. High complexity and a bit intense. I actually didn’t like this at all when I first opened the bottle, but it’s growing on me.

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