Fortaleza Blanco Lote 77-B - 40%
One of the beauties of small, traditional production tequila is batch (lote) variation. When a new lote rolls out, it's always fun to weigh the new batch against the memory of your favorites. Lote 77 has received some pretty high praise from enthusiasts I trust, so I was excited to spend time with this bottle. To date, my highest rated Fortaleza Blancos are 100-B and 16-B.
Notes: Less brine/olive/savory notes than I typically get with Fortaleza. Lighter top notes - citrus, florals. Structure is active up front before resting into a dry, long, linear finish driven by jicama and bittering roots.
"Crisp and clean" are descriptors that immediately come to mind with this style of blanco. Great warm weather pour. More in line with 16-Bs profile than 100-B.
Score: 7 (Highly Recommend) My palate preference for rounder/dense blancos that play weightier across the palate (100-B and Fuenteseca 2018) holds the scoring back a little for me. That said, the balance and integration is solid and every pour was enjoyable.
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 - Anything Else To Drink?
2 - Nothing Nice To Say
1 - Drain Pour