Nuestra Soledad San Luis del Rio Mezcal

Espadin Agave

San Luis Del Rio, Oaxaca, Mexico

Sparkling grapefruit and citrus aromatics with wet stone and electricity. The palate has a rich and creamy mouth-feel, savory butterscotch and herbs with a long and complex finish.

San Luis del Rio is a small village in the district of Tlacolula, located in the east of the Valles Centrales region of Oaxaca, Mexico. The small village is nestled in the mountains and sits next to the Rio Hormiga Colorada (Red Ant River). San Luis del Rio is the second largest mezcal producing village in Oaxaca, almost entirely comprised of Espadín. The numerous distilleries are all situated along the banks of the river, where water is abundant, and shade is supplied by the tropical fruit-bearing trees and jungle-like conditions that hug the river in the center of the valley. Far above the tree line, on scraggly, rugged terrain, the agave fields dot the hillsides. The combination of fertile soil, an annual rainy season, high exposure, and intense heat, results in early-ripening agaves with densely concentrated sugars that, in turn, lead to the rich, bold, and complex profile of this mezcal. Nuestra Soledad San Luis del Rio is made by two mezcaleros, whose palenques are next to each other along the river. Working as a small cooperative, Rafael Mendez, along with his cousin Javier Nolasco, use traditional methods of production: roasted in earthen pit oven; milled by mule-drawn Tahona; fermented in wood tanks with river water; distilled in copper pot-stills. Tasting Notes Sparkling grapefruit and citrus aromatics with wet stone and electricity. The palate has a rich and creamy mouth-feel, savory butterscotch and herbs with a long and complex finish.