Quiereme Mucho Tepextat Mezcal

Tepextate is one of the slow ones: the wild agave behind this Oaxacan mezcal takes 19 to 25 years to reach maturity, and that patience shows in the glass. Maestro mezcalero Wilibaldo Rodríguez hand-crushes the agave hearts and follows time-honored techniques, producing a spirit that leads with herbs, with cooked agave and smoke in the background. Expect sage, wild mint and a hint of roasted sweet potato on the nose, then a silky palate of wildflowers and honeysuckle sweetness with a mild peppery edge, closing wet, earthy and herbal. It suits the drinker who already knows mezcal and wants to explore what a wild single variety brings, and it rewards collectors building a shelf of agave-specific bottlings. Sip it neat at room temperature or lightly chilled first; it also adds depth to a mezcal Old Fashioned or Negroni. We carry it because it shows how much character one wild agave and a careful mezcalero can put into a single bottle.