Del Maguey San Luis del Rio Mezcal

* My Bottle: From Lot SLR 123. Nose: The nose starts with intense, earthy, herbal aromas - oregano, sage and lemon thyme. This is followed by smoked capsicum and dark honey, rubber, iodine, brine, tar, diesel oil and fragrant oily smoke. It's a very forceful and individual nose. Palate: The arrival is rich, oily and earthy with a sweet umami quality but retaining a sprightly juiciness. Then in the development an banquet of cooked fruits is presented - plantain, apple, orange, berries, pineapple, melon - all stewed in a clay pot in a sweet broth of cinnamon and cloves and drizzled with caramelized sugar. Not very spicy and not brightly herbal, this is a very laid back and round palate. Finish: Medium-long, crisp, clean with a little lingering smoke and earth - after a while a juicy sweetness remains. This wonderful mezcal has a nose that was devised in some outré and probably illegal corner of heaven. The palate is satisfying and second only to the top-shelf Del Maguey expressions such as Chichicapa and Pechugha for complexity. "Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

smooth, sage, herbal.