Tepextate + Tobalá | April 2023 | Hugo García Maldonado | ENNHGO2304A | Fall 2023 release | 48 bottles | PM Wine Distributors

This quintessential miahuateco wild field blend was crafted in April 2023 using and even mix of Tepextate and Tobalá, two agaves endemic to the region. Hugo was given access to select and harvest the maguey from a family member’s land in the nearby village of Yegosé in exchange for half of the total production. This traditional chain of production has been greatly interrupted in recent years but remains essential to the socio-cultural and economic sustainability of many producing regions throughout Mexico.

From a rocky and white earthen stretch of hilly terrain, Hugo harvested 15 mature Tepextate and 40 Tobalá plants. Roasted in a conical earthen oven with mesquite wood, Hugo macerated and fermented approximated 1500kg of cooked agave, enough to fill two sabino wood fermentation vats. After a slow distillation and careful composition of heads, hearts, and tails, the young palenquero crafted a total of 80 liters. Returning half the production to the landowner, Hugo saved the remaining 40 liters for this special NETA bottling. Selected by PM Wine Distribution for a New Mexico exclusive, just 48 bottles are available.

§  Maguey(es): Tepextate (Agave marmorata var.) and Tobalá (Agave aff. potatorum)

§  Provenance of the maguey: Wild harvested from family land

§  Producer: Hugo García Maldonado

§  Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán

§  Soil type: white and rocky tierra blanca cascajudo

§  Rest time after harvest: nine days

§  Oven: Conical earthen pit; eight days with mesquite

§  Rest time after oven: 15 days

§  Maceration: Machete and shredder

§  Fermentation: Native yeasts; two 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood tanks with well water

§  Dry fermentation time: 48 hours

§  Wet fermentation time:  eight days

§  Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills

§  Final composition: Heads, hearts, and tails

§  Batch size: 80L

§  Date of distillation: April 2023

§  ABV: 46.6%