Intro
Nación de las Verdes Matas is a new project that is focused on bringing small batch agave spirits from the northwestern Mexican states of Nuevo Leon, Durango, and Tamaulipas to light while fostering their continued survival.
They are uncertified by the CRM and labeled as “spirits distilled from agave” even if their makers may consider them as traditional mezcals. They do have a NOM, NOM 142, which is a catch all for all Mexican spirits that don’t have another NOM. And, the distillers are known as “maestros vinateros” instead of maestros mezcaleros.
Details
- Location: Nombre de Dios, Durango
- Agave: Verde, A. salmiana
- Maestro Vinatero: Manuel Simental
- ABV: 48%
- Tasting Keywords: Salt, pepper, cinnamon.
- NOM: NOM 142
- Buy it today
Nose
There’s something really tart and closed in the nose of this mezcal, it’s like a Barolo that needs to breathe to reveal all its complexity.
Taste
A very soft mezcal full of mellow agave sugar with salty highlights.
Method
The agaves from the Simental grow in low, arid hills around Nombre de Dios which, while at 1,500 meters above sea level, is totally different from agaves that grow at a comparable height in El Mezquital so this a great contrast to the mezcals made by the Soto and de la Cruz families.
Locally the agave used for the Simental is known as verde. It’s actually a wild salmiana which grows very close to the ground locally in small circles. The piñas are small so they get very little juice from them.
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