El Mayor is a solid, well-produced budget-friendly (under $50) tequila brand produced by Destiladora González Lux (NOM 1603) in Arandas in the Jalisco Highlands (Los Altos) by the González family – master distiller and patriarch Rodolfo and his daughter/distiller Grace and son Paul. In 2024 they released a special experimental reposado aged for a minimum of 9 months in Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks from Napa Valley.
Like all of the brand’s tequilas, the Rosado Reposado is made using González estate-grown Blue Weber agave that is grown in sandy, mineral-rich soil which are hand-chopped and steam roasted in an autoclave. The sugars (aguamiel) are extracted using a roller mill before they are fermented in stainless steel vats using a family yeast strain. The tequila is 2x-distilled in stainless steel pot stills before barrel/cask aging. The final tequila is bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV).
A light pink-gold in the glass (akin to a lighter rosé wine blended with a chardonnay), the Rosado Reposado opened up significantly over just a week following the first of, so far, several separate pours. The initial tart and somewhat wine-like astringent fruit tannins mellow and become much more integrated with the other aromas and flavors.
On the nose, the wine influences are clear and the reposado smells like a tequila-red wine hybrid. Fruit (red berries, tart grapes), cooked and musky, earthy raw agave, baking spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), lemon zest and peel, and a hint of white pepper define the aroma profile which becomes much more balanced and harmonious as the bottle aerates and opens up and the tart tannins mellow. The nose is buttery like some wines.
Hints of fruity sweetness transition to tannic fruit (red berries, grapes) and mix with earthy and musky raw agave, punchy black pepper and the baking spices from the nose alongside oak/barrel notes. Then comes sweet cooked agave, a hint of vanilla, lemon and orange peel, and a drying finish that closes with baking spices, black pepper, oak, fruit skins, and some anise bitterness. Like on the nose, the wine influences are prominent.
As the reposado has continued to open up, the flavors have become much better integrated and seamless. Rolling the tequila slowly across the palate does wonders for appreciating it as the different flavors pop.
The Rosado has a medium viscosity in the glass and a creamy/buttery/oily mouthfeel that coats the palate for a medium length of time with a decent 6-8 second finish.
This is the perfect tequila to introduce a wine drinker who is tequila curious but also a bit apprehensive because of bad college mixto memories.
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