Review: Tequilas of Lagrimas del Valle

Lágrimas del Valle (“tears of the valley”) launched a few years back with the goal of showcasing “single ranches” of blue agave to showcase how terroir influences tequila. It recently launched its fourth and fifth ranch, with 2024’s La Loma and La Sabina joining Palo Verde (2022), El Chiqueño (2022), and El Sabino (2023). La Loma is the first of the tequilas in the lineup to come from the state of Michoacán. All of Lagrimas’s bottlings are vintage dated with the year of the agave harvest, also.

Here’s a little more detail on production:

Lágrimas del Valle is produced in collaboration with the Rosales Family (of Tequila Cascahuin NOM 1123) and current Master Distiller Salvador “Chava” Rosales Trejo, the third generation of his family. Their distilling tradition dates back to 1904 in El Arenal, Jalisco, Mexico, located within the heart of the “Valley” of Tequila. Each bottling carries a familiar profile but will be distinctly unique in both flavor and aroma.

Lágrimas begins by selecting the very best Single Ranch (Rancho Unico) of blue agave available – looking for ripeness, but also for signs of complexities of flavor. The agaves are then cut, broken down, and loaded into their small 12-16-ton steam powered masonry ovens. Cascahuin utilizes a unique intermittent cooking method for eight hours per day, then stopping until the following day, and repeating over the course of four days. This allows for deep layers of flavor to be developed. The cooked agaves are then removed from the ovens, and their “agua miel” (honey waters) extracted. For Lágrimas, 70% of the agaves are crushed utilizing a roller mill and then fermented in stainless steel tanks, while the other 30% are crushed using a Tahona, and fermented in open air wooden tanks. A unique blend is determined through multiple rounds of blind tastings alongside the family.

“Lágrimas demonstrates that terroir exists in the blue agave and tequila,” said Brandon Cummins, Director of Education, Altamar Brands, which collaborated on the development as well as imports and sells Lágrimas del Valle in the U.S. “While many brands aim to create a consistent profile year over year, Lágrimas embraces the uniqueness of each individual ranch and produces in such a way as to emphasize that distinct character. We do this intentionally, to demonstrate the rich complexity of the Blue Weber Agave.”

Note that Lagrimas only bottles blanco/plata and reposado tequilas, at least for now.

We received a quartet of bottlings, including two from La Loma, one from La Sabina, and one from El Sabino. We’ll delve into all four in the tasting notes that follow.

All expressions are 92 proof. NOM 1123.

Lagrimas del Valle Plata La Loma 2024 Review

Brilliant jalapeno and green pepper on the nose, with overtones of lime. Ground black pepper arrives with some time in glass, followed by a layer of turned earth and saddle leather. The complex palate is quite powerful, showcasing intense herbal notes that are tempered by lemon custard, caramel, and marzipan, making for a very creamy and almost dessert-like quality that’s quite rare to find in a blanco. The pungency of green agave percolates throughout the experience, clinging perhaps too hard on the finish, which comes across as a bit overly gritty and tannic. 92 proof. B+ / $60 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Lagrimas del Valle Reposado La Loma 2024 Review

Aged three months in ex-bourbon barrels. Unbelievably pale, it’s difficult to tell this is reposado once it’s poured in the glass, and the nose doesn’t do much to alter that perception. Again heavy herbal and jalapeno notes are prominent, with overtones of earth, wet leather, and a touch of beefiness that gives the aroma some austerity. It remains plenty peppery on the palate and retains much of the DNA of the Plata, but more vivid layers of marzipan and sesame add an extra layer of creaminess over what’s already visible in the core spirit. A hint of honeydew adds a layer of fruit that emerges with time in glass, with finishing notes of toasted marshmallow and caramel sauce. Turns out three months is plenty of time to temper any roughness out of the blanco spirit. A- / $65 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Lagrimas del Valle Plata El Sabino 2023 Review

Fresher than the La Loma offering, with bright lemon, a smattering of green herbs, a pinch of mint, and some white pepper all imbuing the rich and vibrant nose. The palate stays the course, though a significant peppery quality threatens to push the creamier elements of the tequila out of prominence. Fortunately, they mostly hold the line, showcasing notes of almond milk and touches of vanilla, followed by a hearty burst of juicy mandarin orange, touched with milk chocolate. As with La Loma, there’s a maturity to this unaged tequila that is surprising and unexpected, predominantly visible through its elegant, well-rounded body. A- / $65 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Lagrimas del Valle Plata La Sabina 2024 Review

Rested 3 months in bourbon barrels. Moderately darker in color than the La Loma reposado. Clear barrel notes kick off on the nose, making this a more iconic example of reposado than La Loma, with its herbal character filtered into the background. Instead, aromas of coconut husk, mint, and sesame oil all offer an initial pungency, before some of that greenery fights its way back into focus. The palate blends sweet and savory, jumping from almond and some toasted cashew notes to green pepper and a hint of scallion. There’s less biting jalapeno here, the tequila coming across as a bit more subdued and well-integrated as gentle waves of pepper waft over the caramel-laced finish. This expression is a bit less complex than some of Lagrimas’s other bottlings, but it never hits a sour note and acquits itself perfectly well as a reposado. A- / $65

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