Review Detail
92 3 100
Tequila Centinela Extra Anejo - Tres Anos
Overall rating
94
Aroma-Nose
94
Initial Taste
92
Body
94
Finish
96
Enjoyability
94
Price
90
Presentation
90
The bottle of Centinela Extra Anejo took a long time to get to me. In fact, it has a Mexican tax stamp dated 2000. It was purchased in April, 2013 by my friend, Phil, at the Hacienda Tequila in Cancun. I visited this same shop around New Year's 2010 and almost purchased this very bottle. Phil calls me from the store and asks if there is any bottle he might buy for me. This is the one I picked. It was a very good choice at $85.00.
My label and bottle predate the bottle pictured in the photo that accompanies this review. But any good tequila collector will always go for the oldest bottle he can get (if he does not already have it). It's the same tequila inside - either way. Bottles and labels are different - both are reasonable - nothing special. The SPECIAL is inside the bottle. There is a plastic pourer in the bottle neck of either edition - with a screw-off cap.
Getting to the inside - in a Riedel glass the color of the liquid is light straw with a faint green tint (almost like olive oil). This tequila is much lighter in color than you would expect any three year old tequila to be. The legs are thick and viscous - taking their time to drain to the liquid's surface. The nose is extremely complex because it is both sweet and earthy. I detected vanilla and caramel, but also agave and earth. The first sip reveals a rich, thick flavor that is rather yeasty but with only a mild alcohol burn. The second sip delivered notes of sweet roasted agave competing with a spiciness that reminded me of cumin. And so it goes that every sip slips back and forth between sweet and spicy. There is, however, a constant undercurrent of green grass and green olives.
On the finish, after the third sip or so, there is no alcohol burn. The taste does become rather smokey, however, and I can detect a stronger presence of the whiskey that previously resided in the barrels. For me, the strong suit of this tequila is its finish. I love it!
My label and bottle predate the bottle pictured in the photo that accompanies this review. But any good tequila collector will always go for the oldest bottle he can get (if he does not already have it). It's the same tequila inside - either way. Bottles and labels are different - both are reasonable - nothing special. The SPECIAL is inside the bottle. There is a plastic pourer in the bottle neck of either edition - with a screw-off cap.
Getting to the inside - in a Riedel glass the color of the liquid is light straw with a faint green tint (almost like olive oil). This tequila is much lighter in color than you would expect any three year old tequila to be. The legs are thick and viscous - taking their time to drain to the liquid's surface. The nose is extremely complex because it is both sweet and earthy. I detected vanilla and caramel, but also agave and earth. The first sip reveals a rich, thick flavor that is rather yeasty but with only a mild alcohol burn. The second sip delivered notes of sweet roasted agave competing with a spiciness that reminded me of cumin. And so it goes that every sip slips back and forth between sweet and spicy. There is, however, a constant undercurrent of green grass and green olives.
On the finish, after the third sip or so, there is no alcohol burn. The taste does become rather smokey, however, and I can detect a stronger presence of the whiskey that previously resided in the barrels. For me, the strong suit of this tequila is its finish. I love it!
D
