New Bottle Highlight Series: Lágrimas Del Valle – Palo Verde (2022) Plata Tequila

I’ve had this bottle for quite a while and am just cracking it open as I try to control how many open bottles I have at any one time – and the number is growing because I’m just curious to try new things, especially agave spirits.

The brainchild of Altamar Brands, Lágrimas Del Valle is a “single estate” focused tequila brand that highlights specific Blue Weber agave fields/ranches to demonstrate the importance of terroir in tequila production. Produced at distillery Tequila Cascahuín (NOM 1123) in El Arenal in the Jalisco Valley, Lágrimas Del Valle – Palo Verde Plata (2022) uses mature Valley agave plants with high sugar levels (35% brix) grown in Amatitán at 1,260 meters above sea level. The agave is cooked in traditional stone/brick ovens (hornos) before its sugars are extracted using a combination of a volcanic tahona stone wheel and a roller mill. Fermentation is done in open-air wood tanks before 2x-distillation in stainless steel pot stills with copper coils. The plata (blanco) is bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV) using deep well water to cut it to bottling proof. The lote (lot/batch) this bottle is from is #338 and it was bottled on 27 January 2023.

Crystal clear with shards of silver at certain angles of light, Palo Verde Plata is part of the brand’s initial run in 2022. After doing several tasting notes-taking sessions spaced out across time, I will write a full review. For now, the earthy, vegetal/herbal/grassy profile on this tequila is remarkable – classic Cascahuín. On the nose and the palate are prominent notes of fresh herbs, olive, green bell pepper, musky raw agave and earthy cooked agave, lemon peel, black pepper and baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), mint, anise, butter, and a light smokiness on the back palate. It drinks like a hybrid between an earthy plata/blanco tequila and an artesanal joven mezcal – Indeed, this would be a very good “gateway” tequila to non-tequila unaged mezcals.