Fortaleza Reposado Winter Blend 2021 (75cl, 46.3%)

Fortaleza Reposado Winter Blend 2021 is the third release in the distillery's annual reposado series, bottled at cask strength with no water added. It blends reposado aged in used American oak with reposado aged in French oak barrels that once held Marsala wine. Made at Destilería La Fortaleza in Tequila, Jalisco under Master Distiller Guillermo Erickson Sauza, it is produced from 100% Blue Weber agave, brick-oven cooked, tahona-crushed, open-air fermented and double-distilled in small copper pot stills, and is verified additive-free. The Marsala barrels add dried-fruit, wine and baking-spice character over cooked agave, butter and cinnamon notes. The aroma brings cooked agave, sweet creamed butter, cinnamon bark and dried fruits. The palate opens with cinnamon spice, then cracked pepper and a cooked-agave, fruit-forward core, while the finish carries faint dried plums, honey and freshly baked dough into a herbal, alcohol-forward close.