Review: Fuenteseca Tequila Reserva Extra Anejo 12 Years Old

There are extra anejo tequilas and there are extra anejo tequilas. Fuenteseca, crafted by farmer-turned-distiller Enrique Fonseca, this ultra-premium spirit isn’t just aged in a unique combination of barrels — American oak previously used for Gran Reserva Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines, and French oak that once held Bordeaux Reserve wines — it’s aged for 12 long years, an eternity in the tequila world (even if that aging is done in an underground barrel room at high altitude). Even the distillation is unique: It’s a blend of 13.4% copper column still distillate with 86.6% copper alembic still distillate.

Let’s dig in.

Fuenteseca Tequila Reserva Extra Anejo 12 Years Old Review

You would expect a tequila of this advanced age to have a much darker color than what’s in the bottle here, which I would peg as somewhere between the color of a typical reposado or anejo. Much the same goes for the nose, which is surprisingly gentle with aromas of roasted agave pinas, sesame oil, fresh-cut grass, and apple skins. Quiet notes of white pepper add a layer of spice, but it’s muted — and absent the aggressive sweetness that is typical of anejo tequilas and beyond.

The palate also finds the spirit distinctly muted though leaning a bit more heavily into notes of black and white pepper. Bolder butterscotch notes build with time in glass, adding some of the candylike sweetness one expects from a well-aged tequila. From there the tequila fades into more traditional notes of banana, vanilla, and an apple-cinnamon character that pops on the spicy finish. It’s more typical of extra anejo but still short of the dessert bomb I expected. That is not a bad thing — though my mind is still trying to wrap itself around where a dozen years went in it.

By the way, if you want to get really crazy, Fuenteseca has extra anejo expressions that are as old as 21 years of age.

86 proof. NOM 1146.

A- / $475

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