As always, Fortaleza has a different take on tequila. This is a rich, sweet tequila that emphasizes chocolate. It has a rich milk chocolate flavor that mixes with mulch to constitute the core of a somewhat confusing experience. This absolutely does not taste like a blanco. This is far less dry and astringent than Fortaleza Reposado, almost as if the batches' labels were swapped. There is some stringent presence here that could be argued to be lime with some dry pineapple. If say it's better than the reposado, but not on par with the best tequilas. The flavor is full and creamy though, so it does have something going for it. Corralejo Reposado lovers should give this a shot. The slightly rancid flavor in here is unfortunately enough of a problem to push this down below Espolon Blanco. Weirdly, I would have guessed that this was at least a reposado, if not an anejo, based on it's rich, robust, and rounded flavor. Rich, with a creaminess and a smokey backing with sweet undertones. There are mixed vegetal and herbal notes with a tad of spiciness and some mineral undertones. There are notes of green olive, lime, and raw pineapple, but they are not very strong. Lightly roasted coffee and bittersweet cocoa come through too, with some iodine that suggests tobacco. The sweetness gives way to dryness toward the finish but the dryness is not overwhelming. There is a fair amount going on here, but there are no brilliant notes and the notes are a bit too balanced toward the rich flavors, which is weird for a blanco tequila. Remarkably smooth, rich, and smokey with a sweet slightly fruity backing and vegetal flavors. For a Blanco, this character is surprising. It has a bit of mintiness in the finish. The flavor is rich, robust, and complex. It is not in any way overwhelmed by alcohol. This is a very good tequila. The complexity is comparable to Arta Anejo (prehaps it is a bit less) but the flavors are generally better. In some ways, I prefer Cabeza's pure tequila flavor for its honesty, but this is really good in its own way. This is very smoky with a rich, meaty, vegetal element that tastes slightly eggy and rotten. It's kind of sweet but in a way that oddly doesn't balance out. This 8s an astonishingly rich tequila with smoke and rancid meat really powering through. That latter part is unfortunately not all good though. There is some sweetness mixed with the smoke and vegetal flavors and some fruit comes through as well. There is some odd tartness to balance it out the net result is both good and impressively rich for a blanco. It seems like a tequila that is good in special circumstances rather than on average though. It is well worth trying for its uniqueness, but it's a bit of a risk to buy a whole bottle. The nose is olive and oil. The brine is prevalent in the nose, but is not piercing. The palate has a surprising amount of mineral alongside see clear brine that comes with some umami oil. It's very much its own thing and it isn't shy about being so since it's so assertive, but it is definitely a bit odd. The earthy and spicy notes are there for sure and there is some sweet fruitiness as well. It's a bit bitter and oily for my liking, but it does work kind of well in that way. The finish is remarkably like the palate, maintaining the complexity and avoiding any excessively bitter weirdness. The oiliness sort of makes it hedonistic in that tequila flavor profile. It's quite good, but in the end it is very oily and packed with green olive. There's no smoke to be found, but it is still rich and rather bitter from the vegetal notes. It's a super, but it doesn't set any new bars. The sweet pineapple really comes through for that brief moment on larger sips, but the finish is still on the dry side. It's a bit too oily though. I slightly prefer Cabeza with its cleaner flavor profile and substantial complexity.