How long is Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia aged?

José Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Añejo Tequila (38% alc./vol.)

Vintage: Non-vintage

Aged: No age statement

Product of:

Launched in 1995 to celebrate the second centenary of Jose Maria Guadalupe Cuervo being granted the first licence to distil tequila, José Cuervo Reserva de la Familia is a 100% extra añejo tequila.

Ten year old agaves are hand-selected and harvested just before the rainy season when at their peak. These are roasted in a traditional masonry oven for 72 hours - half the temperature and twice the usual cooking temperature and time.

Reserva de la Familia is aged for five years in a combination of new, 'toasted' French Limousin and ex-American whiskey casks, with addition of some reserve tequilas aged for more than 30 years. Steam collected from the ovens is condensed, distilled to purify and then used to hydrate the tequila to bottling strength.

Each bottle is hand-numbered, dated and sealed with wax. Every year the Cuervo family commissions a different Mexican artist to design the new collectible hand-painted wooden box. Only 17,000 bottles of Reserva De La Familia are produced each year.

Review and Tasting

Sampled on 06/06/2011

Appearance:

[bottle No. 2343 dated 26-07-06] Clear amber.

Aroma:

Slightly smoky, vanilla, cacao with espresso coffee aromas.

Taste:

Elegant, agave with gingerbread, cinnamon, marzipan, bitter chocolate, coffee and a light citrus flavours with a slightly smoky garnish.

Aftertaste:

The finish is almost cognac like with delicate smoky brandy notes.

Closure: Wax-sealed natural cork stopper

Tequila Extra Añejo

Tequila Valley, Jalisco, Mexico

community rating

First released in 1995 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia is the world's first extra-añejo tequila.

Distilled from agave hearts harvested at seven to twelve years old and then matured in both American and French oak barrels for at least 3 years, this is the ultimate expression of Jose Cuervo.

First released in 1995 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia is the world's first extra-añejo tequila. Distilled from agave hearts harvested at seven to twelve years old and then matured in both American and French oak barrels for at least 3 years, this is the ultimate expression of Jose Cuervo. Rich and flavorful, sip this neat or on the rocks.

• • age

  • Cost

  • abv

    40.0

• Tequila Extra Añejo

  Distilled from 100% blue Weber agave, it is aged for at least 3 years in barrels not to exceed 600 liters. Any type of wood is acceptable, although ex-bourbon barrels are most common. Extra Añejo tequilas are also known as "ultra aged".

• Cask Type

Tasting Notes

"Dark with rich, syrupy legs in the glass, this tequila entices with aromas of fresh vanilla-fudge, medium oak and roasted agave. The mouthfeel is thick and unctuous, providing the perfect vehicle for deep oak, agave, roasted pineapple, vanilla pound-cake and piloncillo sugar. Hints of saddle leather, cinnamon, red apple and pear are evident, and a big, rich finish satisfies with more vanilla, oak, and roasted apple all which are slow to retreat."

Score 90

Flavor Profile

Rich & Oily

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Jose Cuervo's Reserva de la Familia Range of Tequila

Jose Cuervo’s Reserva de la Familia is the company’s flagship tequila brand, and a leading player in the ultra-premium 100% agave tequila market. This year, the company is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the brand’s commercial release by reintroducing Reserva de la Familia Platino to the US market and by debuting Reserva de la Familia Reposado. The two expressions will join the Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo as expressions in the company’s ultra-premium tequila range.

The history of Cuervo and its distilleries is deeply intertwined with the history of Tequila and the province of Jalisco. At the beginning of the 18th century, Tequila was a remote village in the lowlands of Jalisco in the shadow of its namesake volcano. The village had a local reputation for its mezcal, dubbed “vino mezcal” or “vino tequila.”

Stills were primitive. There was little consistency in production methods or the raw materials, the agave and other fermentable plants, on which the distillation was based. Tequila producers competed locally with distillers of aguardiente, a spirit distilled from fermented sugarcane juice, coconut wine producers, as well as a broad range of fermented native beverages including pulque—fermented agave sap.

By the mid-18th century, vino tequila was more popular among Jalisco’s inhabitants than the native pulque. The production of vino tequila had moved from haciendas, where small stills had been as ubiquitous as bread ovens, to larger, specialized distillation plants called tavernas. The tavernas, or taverns, were the 18th century’s version of brew pubs, where vino tequila was both made and consumed.

In 1740, Jose Antonio de Cuervo, along with a business partner known only by his surname Malaquisa, began to produce vino tequila at the Taberna La Chorrea. By 1750, they were reportedly shipping over 20,000 liters of Vino Mezcal de Tequila de Jose Cuervo, yearly to neighboring Guadalajara.

In 1758, the Spanish monarch, Ferdinand VI, granted the two partners a large property on the outskirts of Tequila, called La Cofradia de las Animas, from which to harvest agave. The company still owns some of the property and still uses it to grow agave. Cuervo is the largest grower of agave in the world.

Cuervo, however, dates its founding from 1795, the year Jose Maria Guadalupe de Cuervo, Jose Antonio’s son, was granted the first official permit to produce tequila commercially.

Jose Cuervo's Agave Fields in Jalisco

Today, more than two centuries later, Becle, S.A.B. de C.V., the parent company of Tequila Cuervo La Rojeña, and the owner of the Jose Cuervo brand, is controlled by the Beckman family, 11th generation descendants of Don Jose Antonio de Cuervo. The company currently controls about 30% of the global tequila market. In the US, tequila’s largest market, roughly one out of every three bottles of tequila sold are from a Cuervo related brand.

Roughly two-thirds of that global market share is represented by the Jose Cuervo brand, and the balance by related brands: 1800 Tequila, Maestro Tequilero and Centenario.

Reserva de la Familia began as the Cuervo family’s private stock. For generations, according to the company, it was exclusively “reserved for the Cuervo family’s private collection.” In 1995, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the company’s founding, Cuervo began to offer limited small batch quantities of an Extra Añejo Tequila under the Reserva de la Familia brand to the public. This was the first Extra Añejo expression ever released

Pot Stills Used to Distill Jose Cuervo's Reserva de la Familia

Alex Coronado, Jose Cuervo’s Master Distiller, describes the production of Reserva de la Familia as an artisanal process with “each step done by hand to ensure the purest expression of Tequila.” Reserva de la Familia is the only Cuervo brand that is exclusively cooked in traditional stone ovens, hornos, and distilled in pot stills. The three expressions are also aged in a warehouse that has both temperature and humidity control. All of the other Cuervo maturation warehouses have only humidity controls.

According to Coronado, Cuervo utilizes both stone ovens and diffusers in the production of tequila. In the first process, the agave piñas are cooked then crushed to extract the juice, which is then fermented. In the diffuser process the starch in the piñas is first extracted and then cooked to break it down into simpler sugars that can be utilized by yeast.

Some tequila enthusiasts object to the diffuser process, terming it an “industrial” process as opposed to what they consider the “artisanal” or oven approach, and consider the tequila produced by diffusers as inferior. 

Coronado, however, disagrees. He points out that the diffuser process extracts about 10% to 15% more agave sugar than cooking piñas in stone ovens. That’s an important advantage, especially during a period of acute agave shortages.

Moreover, he points out, cooking in ovens often over caramelizes the sugars. Diffusers, he argues, are better at preserving fruity and earthy notes and diminishing cooked agave notes.

Likewise, Cuervo utilizes both pot stills and column stills for distillation. The combination of stone oven and diffuser, as well as pot still and column still distillation, combined with different maturation strategies, produce a range of tequilas with different aroma and flavor profiles for the Master Distiller to work with in formulating different styles of tequila and in enhancing their complexity.

According to Coronado, most of Cuervo’s tequilas are produced using a combination of different cooking and distillation protocols.

Tasting Notes

Reserva de la Familia Platino Tequila

Reserva de la Familia, Platino Tequila, 40% ABV, 750 ml

The Platino Tequila is made using a process that Cuervo calls “Essencia de Agave”. The piñas are trimmed very tight leaving the inner, most flavorful, portion of the 10- to 12-year-old piñas from hand-selected, estate grown agave. The pinas are then slow cooked to bring out the agave flavor. After distillation, the tequila is aged in steel tanks for 60 days before being bottled. Platino is just another name for a blanco, or unaged, tequila.

According to Coronado the heart cut, the portion of the distillate in the second distillation that is captured for aging, is from the high 60s to the low 30s. The spirit is casked at around 46% ABV, close to bottling proof. The aguamiel, the liquid that runs off from the hornos while the agave is cooking, is distilled and the water extracted is used to dilute the tequila to bottling strength.

The color is crystal clear. On the nose, the tequila is clean and fresh, with sweet and floral notes that give way to earthy and herbal notes of straw and dried herbs. There is also a hint of smoke in the background.

On the palate, the tequila is sweet and creamy, with an oily texture. There are some caramel apple notes, along with tropical fruit notes of melon and a bit of pineapple and papaya, and a touch of anise. There are also white pepper notes, along with some cinnamon and nutmeg.

The finish is long, smooth and creamy, with lingering white pepper and sweet notes and a hint of wet stone minerality.

If you want to taste the essence of agave without the aroma and flavor contributions imparted by oak aging, a Blanco Tequila is the best choice. The Reserva de la Familia Platino is an outstanding selection. Drink it neat or on the rocks. Over ice it goes down really easy.

Color: 9/10, Nose 28/30, Palate: 29/30, Finish: 28/30, Overall Score: 94/100

Reserva de la Familia Reposado Tequila

Reserva de la Familia, Reposado Tequila, 40% ABV, 750 ml

The Reserva de la Familia is matured in three different types of new cask wood: two casks of American oak, one that receives a heavy toast and one that receives a light toast, and then a French cask of Limousin oak, which is lightly toasted. Like its siblings, the tequila is matured in a warehouse that has both temperature and humidity control, and that is purposely kept cooler than the surrounding environment.

The result is a tequila that combines the intense spice notes contributed by heavily toasted American oak barrels with the sweet toffee, dried fruit and vanilla flavors contributed by lightly toasted American and French oak barrels.

The color is a light amber. On the nose, the tequila is sweet and floral, with aromas of cooked agave, hints of cooked tropical fruit, along with notes of vanilla and caramel. There are notes of cinnamon, pepper and a bit of clove. Like the Platino, there is also a clean, fresh, wet stone minerality in the background that, along with the spice notes, become more pronounced as the tequila opens up.

On the palate, the tequila is less sweet than on the nose, but it retains some candied sweetness. There is also an immediate and pronounced, lingering pepperiness, followed by some vanilla and caramel. There are some tropical fruit notes, more cooked than fresh, as well as melon and a hint of pineapple, along with a bit of orange zest. There are some cinnamon and clove notes, and also a bit of nutty milk chocolate.

The finish is long, smooth and creamy, with fruit and chocolate notes and a lingering sweetness that fades into a slight oaky, bitter note.

Color 9/10, Nose: 27/30, Palate: 27/30, Finish: 28/30, Overall Score: 91/100

Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo Tequila

Reserva de la Familia, Extra Añejo Tequila, 40% ABV, 750 ml

The Reserva de la Familia was the first expression released in this range. This year it celebrates its 25th anniversary. This expression was among the first “sipping tequilas.” It’s hard to imagine sometimes how dramatically tequila has evolved over the last quarter century. When this expression was first released it was seemingly revolutionary, today it is just one of many ultra-aged tequilas available.

Like its Reposado sibling, the Extra Añejo is aged in a combination of American and French oak. These barrels have a light char compared to the heavy to light toast of the barrels used for the Reposado expression. Technically, an Extra Añejo Tequila has to be matured for at least three years. The Reserva de la Familia Extra Añejo is typically aged for between four and five years.

The color is amber, with a pronounced golden sheen. On the nose, there is the expected cooked agave sweetness, followed by notes of caramel, vanilla, black pepper, cinnamon and some orange zest. There are some dried fruit notes, especially some black cherry, along with some milk chocolate. As the tequila opens up the caramel becomes more molasses like and a distinctive crème caramel/flan like custard creaminess emerges. There is also an oak note and some smokiness in the background.

On the palate, the tequila is sweet, smooth and creamy with an obvious, mouth coating, palate weight. There is a pronounced pepperiness that builds quickly, but then fades equally quickly into a lingering black pepper note. There is some caramel and vanilla, along with cinnamon and a pronounced clove note, with slight dried fruit notes.

The finish is long, smooth and creamy, with a lingering dried fruit sweetness, and a pronounced pepperiness, with a fleeting, well-integrated, oak note.

This is a classic sipping tequila. Unlike its other siblings, the wood aging influence is paramount here, even though the cooked agave notes are unmistakable. If you are a bourbon lover, this is a very easy tequila to transition to.

Color 9/10, Nose: 29/30, Palate: 29/30, Finish: 28/30, Overall Score: 95/100

The three Reserva de la Familia expressions are all outstanding tequilas. While they share a common DNA, all three offer very different aroma and taste profiles. If you are a tequila aficionado, you are bound to find one that suits your taste. If you are new to tequila, this is an excellent place to start.

Salud

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