Fortaleza Reposado
Destilería La Fortaleza (Guillermo Erickson Sauza) · Destilería La Fortaleza (NOM 1493), Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico
Fortaleza is tequila made the way it was meant to be made. While most modern producers use autoclaves and diffusers for speed and efficiency, Guillermo Sauza — great-great-grandson of Don Cenobio Sauza, the “Father of Tequila” — insists on the tahona, the brick oven, and the wooden fermentation tanks. The volcanic spring water that feeds the distillery carries minerals from deep within the stratovolcano, and you can taste the terroir in every sip. The reposado rests just long enough to gain warmth and vanilla from the barrel without losing the agave’s voice.
Nose
Roasted pear, vanilla, cinnamon, citrus zest, warm cream, toast
Palate
Cooked agave, citrus, sweet butter, caramel, crème brûlée, green apple, allspice, black pepper
Finish
Moderately tannic with lingering sweet oak, vanilla, and clean agave
- Production
- Tahona-crushed, brick oven–roasted (3 days), open-air wooden tank fermentation, copper pot still distilled
Cocktail Suggestion
Cocktail — The Volcanic Margarita: 2 oz Fortaleza Reposado · 1 oz fresh lime juice · 3/4 oz agave nectar · 1/4 oz Grand Marnier float. Shake with ice, strain into a salt-rimmed rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Food Pairing
Pair with: Carnitas tacos with fresh pineapple salsa — the roasted pork and sweet fruit echo the caramel and agave in the tequila.
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