Sotoleros Lupe Ensamble

Verdict

Lupe López works in a register most sotoleros don't attempt – true cross-species ensambles where sotol shares the bottle with agave in careful proportions. His first ensamble under the Sotoleros label is a demonstration of how much coherence a careful blender can pull from three different plants. This belongs next to Bienvenido Fernández's Yellow Label as the reference for the format.

Tasting notes

Nose: Cooked agave, cedar, dry herb, a mineral top note

Palate: 46.1% holds the three components in balance – the angustifolia's cooked sweetness, the shrevei's herbal-savory edge, and the sotol's cedar signature each legible and none dominant

Finish: Herbal, flinty. Long

The bottom line

Yes, at full price. The format's best current exponent