Review Detail

I have not tried doing a rating on this web site before, so we will see how this goes. Casa Noble was very hard to get in this Washington, DC market until recently, but seems much more readily available now at a generally much lower price than when it was truly scare, or even what it used to be nationally on various web sites. I am paying $38 for the CNR at the Montgomery County, MD liquor store. (The county operates all liquor stores in the county.) I had been very anxious to try this tequila for years based upon what I had read on-line. I have been drinking it frequently in every possible manner lately. I do not think it disappoints in any way and is clearly among my top three or so reposados. I really do not see how it could be any smoother. Seems very well-balanced to me, with the full and complex complements of tequila and especially "pure" agave flavors. To me, good citrus (I would say orange and lemon), earth, vanilla (light vanilla, the way I like vanilla tones) and other spices in the nose, taste, and finish, with that singular agave sweetness in there, too. I am not usually big on anejos, and the wood here is just about perfect for my tastes. It adds nuance and complexity (a little leather, a little cedar maybe, a tiny bit of tobacco?), but in no way overwhelms or distorts. (Tequila should not be whiskey.) I agree with other re nice body and excellent, long finish. In my experience, finish separates the great from the merely wonderful. If there was anything more or different I might like in this tequila it might be more intensity, maybe even a little "burn" in there somewhere, which might add a note of complexity without throwing it all off. Something like some of the best bourbons have even when they are not over-proof. Patron to me, for instance, is just too darn "smooth" and light. CNR does not err nearly to that extent re smoothness. I wonder, for instance, what this would be like double rather than triple distilled. Casa Noble seems to use really high quality agave. I wonder what it would be like if they used an even more stringent selection criteria for the agave quality. I would not want more wood or age. Just more agave intensity. It would be more expensive, naturally, but it would be amazing. To me this reposado is truly a real McCoy. Whether it is someone in particular's favorite reposado or not, I think Casa Noble is structuring a really wonderful tequila within the bounds of what truly remarkable tequila is supposed to be.