September 26, 2008 We tasted this beauty on 9-23 at a restaurant in a wine glass that closely resembled ISO tasting glasses. The color is a very deep amber, with a relatively high viscosity. The nose contained oak, citrus, caramel, and a bit of cooked agave. Evidence of the wine barrel can be noticed in the middle taste - dark berry, vanilla, a little cocoa, and cherry - but all are secondary to the still-present agave. The finish is strong with agave, vanilla, and caramel, and is quite long. The pleasant surprise is that so much of the agave flavor has been retained despite the amount of aging that this spirit has undergone.

While I would have no problem finding desserts with which to pair this tequila, I think I would much prefer to have it *as* dessert.

Here's why I rated the price so well: Our city's leading tequila bar wants $100 per shot for Burdeos, and the $500 that the liquor stores want for the whole bottle makes both way out of our price range. However, the little restaurant up the street knows that, in reality, nobody in this town will buy a $100 shot, and has therefore priced it at $45 for a shot.

 September 01, 2008 Tasted on 9-1-08 in Riedel tequila glasses, at the end of a self-constructed flight at home. The nose involves floral notes along with caramel and cocoa; the intake is smooth, with good agave flavor and more deep chocolate. Then the finish: the agave fades to a focused coffee/chocolate (mocha?) combination. Super smooth, lots of finesse. We paid $50 for this bottle in a store known for overpriced bottles; we'd pay more if we had to.

 August 13, 2008 Tasted this with brandy snifters at home (we don't have our Riedels yet). This is not the smoothest tequila we've had, but it has a remarkable fragrance combining vegetal, herbal, floral, smoke, and baking spice notes. The clean finish leaves you with the agave, smoke and what seems like a bit of residual sugar.