Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/960891
april 2018 / the tasting panel / 95 An Expanding Family: Contigo, El Fumador, and El Macho Contigo Tequila Plata ($35) Contigo exudes sensuous lavender-lime on the nose with a hint of earth. Deep notes of tobacco, black pepper, black olive, and coffee bean are savory with a rich, spicy mouthfeel. It finishes with a vanilla muskiness that lasts for a long time. 92 —M.M. El Fumador Reposado ($40) This tequila per- fumes the air with cooked agave, toffee apple, and pink grapefruit. The delightful aromas are a start to a flavor profile that is enhanced with a slick, edgy mouthfeel. With a high-toned leanness, the salty pear and apple notes are intensified. Black tea, honeyed pineapple, and a surge of slightly- smoky minerality complete this handsome spirit. 94 —M.M. El Macho Añejo Tequila ($60) El Macho is a garden of orange blossom, caramel-cocoa cof- fee, and a hint of cedar. Those are just the aromas: The palate dazzles with peppered mocha latte, deep-cooked agave, and cinnamon-spiced mandarin orange. 95 —M.M. DON SEBASTIANI & SONS Tasting Notes Widely recognized as a premier Californian winemaking fam- ily since the early 1900s, the Sebastianis have embarked on a new endeavor: luxury tequila. Led by Donny Sebastiani, Don Sebastiani & Sons partnered with a family-owned distillery in Jalisco to develop a small-batch, expressive, and terroir-driven line of tequilas that launched in 2016. The three expressions—Contigo, El Fumador, and El Macho—are sourced from an estate-grown blend of highland and lowland agaves. Don Sr. and Donny Sebastiani have long shared affinities for fine tequilas, appreciating the parallels between crafting the spirit and winemaking. In each art form, they meticulously prepare each detail, all the way down to the proprietary yeast strain used in production. The Contigo Tequila Plata is made from the small and large hearts of 100 percent Blue Weber agave (the Master Distiller takes the juice and distills it twice in stainless steel tanks). Also produced from the hearts of 100 percent Blue Weber agave, El Fumador, a reposado expression, is distilled twice and rests for eight months in American white oak barrels previously used to age whiskey. Finally, El Macho, an añejo tequila, blends 50 percent Blue Weber agave from the volcanic-rich soil of lowlands of Jalisco with 50 percent Blue Weber from the iron-rich soil highlands. Grown in elevations rang- ing from 4,200–6,700 feet and picked when they mature to 10–12 years old, the agave adds complexity to the flavor profile, which is already enhanced and emboldened by two years of aging in American oak whiskey barrels.