April 03, 2008 Fortaleza Blanco (formerly Los Abuelos): Tasted 4/1/08, 8pm at my home in a Riedel. Price paid for the bottle: $45. The presentation screams authentic and traditional. This bottle would be right at home in a 1950s Western movie set in Mexico.

Clear in color, Fortaleza blanco has moderate earthy aromas with subtle floral undertones. There is a moderate to intense agave nose that follows right to the tongue upon initial taste. Soft on the tongue, Fortaleza blanco has a medium oily mouth feel with a subtle sweetness and no bitterness. Intense flavors of agave precede a shorter finish than I would have liked with a slight numbing of alcohol.

Overall, this is a fantastic blanco. Definitely on the earthy side rather than the fruity side for me. A bottle worth adding to your collection.

 January 21, 2008 La Certeza Anejo is certainly a decent tequila for the money. The nose is full of spice and earth. And then the finish is smooth with a fairly long duration and subtle sweetness of vanilla. Where this tequila falls short is on entry. The agave is mild to non-existent and there is a little too much smokiness which lends itself to a slight bitterness.

Overall though, I would give this tequila a "B" and would not dissuade anyone from trying it (although it would not be high on my list of recommendations).

 January 21, 2008 Clear in color, El Diamante Del Cielo Blanco is a smooth but weak flavored silver. The nose is peppery with mild tangerine/citrus notes. It is light in the mouth with mild agave flavors. The finish is smooth and slightly oily, with a minty aftertaste of medium duration.

Overall this is one of those tequilas that I would recommend to people who are "unsure" if they like the taste of agave or not. There is nothing overpowering about El Diamante Del Cielo Blanco. It's just a nice, mild tequila.

 December 04, 2007 Casa Noble Anejo is aged for 5 years. This is bordering on what many people consider the longest that tequila should ever be aged. And it shows. The nose reveals quite a bit of caramel and smoke. The cooked agave aroma we are so used to from Casa Noble's Blanco and Reposado plays a mild, secondary role. The initial taste is heavy and bitter. One is immediately confronted with wood and smoke with secondary flavors of coffee and chocolate. Even on the tip of the tongue, subtle sweetness is overpowered by the wood in this tequila. Casa Noble Anejo does finish fairly smooth with a medium duration of earthy flavors, but overall I was not a big fan of this anejo.

 December 04, 2007 Casa Noble Reposado is aged for the maximum number of days allowed while still being able to label the spirit as a reposado: 364 days. As such, I find Casa Noble Reposado drinks more like an anejo. The nose is wonderful. Cooked agave, cinnamon, vanilla, and floral notes are all present. It's light and sweet in the mouth on initial taste, but I find the nose much more powerful than the flavor. Its medium body finishes smooth after resting with more agave and spicy vanilla on the back end. This is a hybrid tequila that falls between a reposado and anejo. More woody than most reposados but retains more agave flavor than a lot of anejos. All in all, Casa Noble Reposado is worth trying, especially for anejo drinkers.