TEQUILA FUENTESECA

RESERVA 7 YEAR, 9 YEAR, & 15 YEAR EXTRA ANEJO


JALISCO, MEXICO

Why Buy: What makes Fuenteseca Reserva tequilas so unique is not just how they're aged, but also for how long they're aged – both unprecedented in the industry. The six extraordinarily complex and mind-blowingly delicious bottles that make up this library release – including a 7 Year, 9 Year, and 15  Year, sourced from agave sites that have been likened to "Grand Cru" vineyards – are the oldest tequilas in the world, and a soaring and majestic testament to what time and patience delivers.
 

The Story: It's not often that a single person alters an entire industry, but that is absolutely what Enrique Fonseca has done. The man has taken tequila connoisseurship, not just to another level, but to another dimension. For Fonseca, the Blue Agave fields of Jalisco are no less a matter of terroir than the most prized vineyards of Bordeaux, and his mission has been to demonstrate what can be achieved when great raw materials are treated, not just with care, but with a keen and passionate eye toward coaxing the utmost flavor from them. But to tell the story of Enrique Fonseca, one has to go back to the beginning, to the unusual and iconoclastic decision to venture outside of Mexico for inspiration. Fonseca journeyed to Kentucky, to Scotland, to France and all throughout Europe to learn from distillate producers what made them so special. The answer might have been simple, but what to do with that answer was not. The finest bourbons, scotches, and cognacs were all aged to perfection. The problem was, tequila had never been aged before, at least, not like these other distillates. Mexico’s weather conditions are not ideal – too hot and too dry. And, because there had not been a demonstrated history of aging, there was no one he could turn to for modeling or support. Common sense dictated that he should pursue another course, but Fonseca, a man of deep curiosity and drive, was intrigued enough to try. Like a cult winemaker, he began distilling individual parcels of agave separately, with the goal of producing an exceptional single-site tequila. And, like a maker of Scotch or rum, he turned to double-copper column stills and alembic pot stills to give his tequilas the depth, the complexity, and the resonance of the greatest distillates in the world. To age them, he looked to the cellarmasters of France and Napa for inspiration, raising his distillates for a period of time in French oak or American oak barrels, the better to tease out their nuances. Three huge, decisive breaks with tradition, each of which earned him more than a fair share of raised eyebrows. But the results were so extraordinary, so utterly unlike anything that had preceded them, that they persuaded the intrepid and ambitious Fonseca to keep going. And the rest, as they say, is history.
 

The Method: To speak just a bit further about those double-copper column stills and alembic pot stills, which, unusual in the world of tequila, are essential to producing Fuenteseca Reserva’s distillations. Once a distillation is complete, Fonseca employs a variety of aging techniques, from different types of wood barrels to subjecting his spirits to a variety of elevations and climate conditions. All factors work together in the aged tequilas, to develop entirely unique flavors, aromas, profiles and colors. The last step in the process also happens to be the most important, and that is patience.
 

Our Tasting Notes: Perhaps the best way to describe these tequilas is "beyond compare." Quite simply, they are like nothing else we have sampled before, like nothing else in the world of tequila. The closest comps we can think of are long-aged Cognacs. The deep complexity, the layered richness, the evocative aromatics, the silky refinement, the clarity and precision ... we could go on for days, extolling their character and characteristics, but words (and I hate to say it, but it's true) cannot begin to do justice to these delicate, powerful, and eminently resonant elixirs. Tasting is, truly, believing.
 

Fun Fact: Fonseca is reputed to be the largest single owner of agave in all of Mexico.
 

Our Guarantee: We always buy and source directly from the distiller, so rest assured: your tequilas will arrive in your hands with pristine provenance. Order yours today!

*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Summer 2024. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. Offer only valid in CA, DE, FL GA, MD, MN, NJ, & TX. This offer will expire on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.