Review: ArteNom Reposado

ArteNom Reposado - 06/19/2018 - NOM 1414 - 40%

Context: I feel like I'm in a quiet minority with my love of reposados. Purists love the blancos. Whisky converts and luxury enthusiasts love anejos and extra anejos (also guilty here). Rarely do I hear someone pounding the pavement for reposados. Maybe I like them more because when I was going to old liquor stores, there were always more repo treasures left behind than blancos or anejos. As a result, I ended up drinking a lot of good old-school repos. I also enjoy using them in cocktails that would traditionally call for blancos. At the end of the day, I burn through more bottles of reposado than I do any other category.

This particular reposado, ArteNOM 1414, was a recommendation from the threads on Agave Collectors. I've only purchased a handful of tequilas that weren't recommended by this group. None of those turned out too well. ArteNOM 1414 was another great suggestion. I found this interview from 2013 with NOM 1414's Sergio Vivanco. Sergio collects natural yeast from the estate-grown agave plants and blends it with champagne yeast to craft specific flavor profiles. My favorite tequila info always ends up being discussions on how production influences what we taste.

Nose: Sour cream. Honey. Citrus. Bell Pepper. Black pepper. Mint. Expertly layered and complex.

Flavor: Plenty of agave. Honeyed and citrus notes on entry. Vegetal agave notes midpalate. Light wood lift. Cinnamon tea and vegetal notes in the finish.

Palate Structure: Linear on the palate. Which is usually a knock against a pour for me. But this isn’t missing any complexity or layers. It just doesn’t rise and fall as dramatically as some pours. It's lean. Finish is long and dry.

Alcohol Integration: The boozier notes poke through in the nose and finish. Lighter profiles like this can make it tough to sand down all the edges.

You May Also Dig:

Rum - lightly aged Haitian Clairin or <5 year old Guadeloupe.

Score: 7 (Highly Recommend) I just finished off my bottle last night (photo is older, but it either way didn't last long). It won't be long before I replace it. Fair price. Great quality.

Archived Scores

Rating System

10 - Reevaluate The Budget

9 - Stash Two (If Able)

8 - Stash One (At The Right Price)

7 - Highly Recommend It To Strangers

6 - Solid - Above Average

5 - Acceptable For The Situation

4 - Not Vocally Complaining

3 - Wish I Was Drinking Something Else

2 - Nothing Nice To Say

1 - Drain Pour