Nobleza Azul Tequila Reposado

I'm pretty much a shill for Feliciano Vivanco y Asociados, otherwise known as NOM 1414, at this point. Even the tequilas that come out of that distillery that I don't like as much as most are still in the top half of what is out there. So when I see a new brand from NOM 1414, I'm excited to taste it, but the brand may also be a victim of unrealistic expectations. I suppose you take the good with the bad with one guy's palate. Let's hope Nobleza lives up to his very tasty cousins.

Price: $35-45/bottle

Aroma: Buttery agave, honey and cinnamon & other spices. It almost smells like a cinnamon mini donut. A great nose.

Initial Taste: Buttery agave and baking spices. Not a ton of agave, but it's pretty tasty.

Body: A rich and oily body. There's a good balance of sweetness, spice, nuts and just a touch of oak.

Finish: A linger that is a lot like the aroma. Sweetness, butter and spice with just a hint of pepper. A tasty finish to a unique and flavorful tequila.

Nobleza is a unique and flavorful tequila. The agave flavor is light, but the other flavors are powerful and tasty...provided you like desserts full of butter (and who doesn't, really?). It's not like a lot of the other 1414 products, but they managed to produces another tasty, yet different, tequila. Salud!

Tasted 1/19/12 from Riedel glass.

Pale yellow color. Swirled glass produced large pearls followed by medium-fast legs. Initial nose was green fruit (pear notes), with hints of spicy caramelized rum, followed by rich agave. Very rich mouth feel. Spice on initial taste, with very little sweetness. In the mid-palate it turned savory, with a buttery, artichoke heart on the tongue. A small amount of peppery on the swallow, with no alcohol taste to speak of, and very little bitterness. Long, wonderful finish of green banana leaves and just a touch of tannin. This is a very enjoyable reposado, and I'm looking forward to trying the other ages in this line.