lirubis's Full Review: Casa Noble Reposado Tequila
There has been a lot going on with Casa Noble during this past year. Arguably one of the top 3 tequilas in the world, tequila aficionados and premium spirit lovers alike are now able to find this exquisite reposado in a wider variety and quantity of places all around the USA. The word is spreading fast, as far as I can tell, and now it seems like everybody wants to take a shot at Casa Noble´s already impressive reputation.
Just 4 days ago I had the honor, pleasure and delight to celebrate a very special ocassion with a bunch of good friends with a new bottle of this exceptional tequila. 2 of my friends are well seasoned tequila fans (in fact, the bottle came as a gift from one of them), and among the rest of them we had a very promising fella who is doing great at Mexico´s top Culinary School. I was particulary interested in his opinion about Casa Noble Reposado.
The epinion you are about to read was greatly enriched by a deep and serious organoleptic discussion between a Tequilier, a bright Chef student and beloved and trusted wine critic, we all agreed in quite a few issues, but basically found the reasons for Casa Noble being such an exceptional spirit.
LOVE STARTS WITH A LOOK
CN Reposado has a beautiful pale straw yellow color, intensely bright and shiny. Pure and transparent, sometimes you can even sense a light greenish hue in the reflections, as it glides down the glass walls. Its body moves around in a compact, yet gracious manner. Loves to swirl when gentle motion is applied to the stem of your glass, and I guess that you can declare this reposado a world class stunner just by looks alone. Like a beautiful woman, it has the right things in the right places.
Casa Noble is proud of its beautiful and unique decanters. Let me tell you: that is PLATINUM on the label. The cap and medallion is pewter (not silver, as someone suggested earlier...), and that deep cobalt blue porcelain is manufactured to LAST a long time. Suggestive, beautiful, unique, impossible to forget or ignore.
FRESH AND VIBRANT BOUQUET
Very few reposado specimens I´ve tried have such true agave character from the very beginning. Usually, the first element your nose pick from reposado tequilas are ethilic notes and woodden accents. Well, Casa Noble is very "agave-heavy", and here we find one of the few issues where total agreement could not be reached. The Chef feels that the agave notes are a tad sharp and too dominant, while our wine enthusiast believes this feature could very well be the most distinctive attribute of this tequila in a positive way, and gain almost instant recognition by it. It adds a very fresh sensation to your nose.
I believe REAL GOOD tequilas should have a strong agave presence by definition, and in the case of Casa Noble Reposado, this is definetly a unique and highly recognizeable feature that may provide a great source of pleasure for seasones tequila aficionados, but prove almost offensive for non-converts. Agave elements almost always take center stage, but there is the dull and unpolished "standard agave" flavor so characteristic in mixtos and colored reposados, and then there is that majestic, lush and fresh sensation of perfectly ripe, fresh cut and oven cooked agave. Casa Noble is abundant on this last sensation. More than any other reposado I´ve tried.
Other elements in the olfatory test include a lovely grass/anise touch, an always delicate white oak accent, a mild but persistent lime presence and even traces of chamomilla and molasses.
FABULOUS KISSER
Call me names if you want to, but I usually try to describe a tasting experience with other sensations I´ve tried at some point in my meaningless life. And even though both tasters and the rest of the guests laughed at first, almost all agreed with me at the end of the argument. I simply said: "Tasting Casa Noble is like kissing a beautiful, sensual and playful person, when you know that both of you want to go for...it, but you also both know that a such a delicious kiss is what makes the other stuff meaningful".
This reposado is delicious beyond description. Starting with one of the softest and delicate textures in the spirits world, Casa Noble really makes the triple distillation process count. "Smooth" isn´t just enough to describe it. Oh yeah, the alcohol attack is there, but it shows up in a gradual but powerful way. Instead of biting your tongue off (as many tequilas do, premium or not...), CN lets you know the high octane nature of tequila, but once again, the kissing analogy comes in handy: good kissers know when and how to be gentle and when to let go.
Concentrating on the flavor structure is a little tricky but the experience is highly rewarding in every way you see it. As your nose already told you, the agave presence is BIG. Sweet, herbacious elements intertwine around your tongue and palate, with a silky yet dense sensation. A mild numbing sensation can almost immediately be felt in the sides of your tongue, followed by a rush of elegant oak accents, happy citrus (lime, grapefruit, lemon) and herbal notes. Some mineral elements make people pick a lead pencil sensation in the aftertaste, but I personally do not think it constitutes one of the main elements in the flavor structure.
The finish is simply magnificent: long lasting and perdurable. Casa Noble reposado will provide plenty of agave notes to your mouth and retronasal passage. Perhaps its mostly dry sensation will displease those aversive of strong defined flavors, but in the whole package, CN Reposado really is one of the best tequilas ever produced, no question about it.
Word of advice: this tequila shall NOT be wasted taken in shots or mixed. Use a Riedell tequila glass or snifter, and never drink it when the fluid is above 65°F. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of emjoying Casa Noble reposado.
Just make sure you will not be alone during the next following hours...
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