Los Abuelos Tequila Blanco

Had the pleasure of attending a tequila dinner hosted by Guillermo Sauza that included their entire line as well as appropriate food pairings. The first up was the blanco.

Aroma: Light, a bit fruity, but very honest (if I can say that) in terms of bringing forth the agave on the nose.
Initial taste: Sweet with fruit and agave.
Body: Semi-oily and well-rounded for any tequila, especially a blanco. Berry and agave flavors developed to vegetal dryness.
Finish: Grass and agave with mild fruit lingering. Little to no burn.

This blanco may be unsurpassed in its purity. Very satisfying and delicious. Perhaps a tad expensive for what it is though.

Tasted at home from a white wine flute.

Slightly sweet agave nose. Slightly oily mouthfeel. Decent alcohol burn with grassy, earthy taste. Mild roast agave presence. Incredible finish- smooth but lingering.

I gave it 90 for price only because it's not available in Oregon and I have to schlep it back from Jalisco. It's worth every penny though.

Nose offers mild agave and herbals - quite characteristic of its area of origin, Tequila, Jalisco. Entry is soft and sweet, yielding mild agave, minerals and earthy flavours. Finishes moderately with herbals, spice and a pleasing tingle. I find Fortaleza Blanco very mild from start to finish. It is a well-presented product but fails to make my top 5 list of blancos. Some may feel it lacks body and depth of character.

Tasted out of a snifter 02/02/09. Clear in color, La Fortaleza blanco is in my top two favorite blancos. It's one to be savored. I just love the presentation, as tvJefe put it, it just screams authentic. I like the fact that they do everything the old traditional way including using a Tahona to crush the agave. I hope everyone who loves tequila, at some point tries this one. Aroma: An intense nose of fruit (Id say raspberry) with lighter hints of earth. One of my favorite tequila aromas.Not the most complex nose, but for some reason it works perfectly. Initial Taste: With a semi oily mouth feel, its obviously sweet upon entry with no bitterness. Initial taste was fruit (again, raspberry) Body: An intense body of agave and earth, with lighter tones of fruit and floral. Finish: A nice lightly heated finish of short duration with a fruity lingering aftertaste.

Fortaleza Blanco (formerly Los Abuelos): Tasted 4/1/08, 8pm at my home in a Riedel. Price paid for the bottle: $45. The presentation screams authentic and traditional. This bottle would be right at home in a 1950s Western movie set in Mexico.

Clear in color, Fortaleza blanco has moderate earthy aromas with subtle floral undertones. There is a moderate to intense agave nose that follows right to the tongue upon initial taste. Soft on the tongue, Fortaleza blanco has a medium oily mouth feel with a subtle sweetness and no bitterness. Intense flavors of agave precede a shorter finish than I would have liked with a slight numbing of alcohol.

Overall, this is a fantastic blanco. Definitely on the earthy side rather than the fruity side for me. A bottle worth adding to your collection.