The downside of reviewing things on this site at a moderate schedule is that we’ll often say we’d look forward to trying a similar version of something – especially with tequilas where we’ve had a blanco or reposado and want to try the other (or even the anejo). Then of course time marches on so we come to a situation where we’re like – oh yeah we should do the reposado of Casa Noble given how much we actually like the blanco ver. That was in 2016 which according to our records was over a century ago. Anyway how does the aged version fare?
In short we have something that’s sort of a halfway house between a reposado and anejo. It becomes a delicious treat all nice and warming, but begin to chill it and mix and you’ll find yourself wishing you had used the Blanco for the task. However; even that isn’t so bad – at the very least this should be the edge case of ‘tell people to get this instead of Patron instead’ because while it may look similar (especially to the anejo) if honest it rivals it, and this isn’t even fully aged yet.
What they Say: “Bottle: 100% De Agave Azul
Box: Aged in French Oak Barrels
Elegant aromas of vanilla, sweet spices, and lemongrass with floral notes are balanced by flavors of cooked agave and lightly toasted oak. Smooth, sensous, and full bodied, this reposado is aged for the maximum time of 364 days in French oak barrels.
(some awards which we don’t give a F about)
The Noble Pursuit
Inspired by a tequila-making heritage dating back to 1776, our founder and Maestro Tequilero, Jose ‘Pepe’ Hermosillo, is driven by a quest for perfection to create a tequila of exceptional character and quality, one truly worthy of sharing.
Every step in his journey as a seventh-generation tequila maker has been focused on his passion for unique tequila and uniquely enjoyable experiences. Beyond a well-crafted tequila – made with our estate-grown agave and following sustainable and traditional production processess – Casa Noble is an expression of true personal commitment. Just one sip and you’ll appreciate all its complexity, balance, and roundness.
We hope out Noble Pursuit becomes part of your journey.”
Taste: 5.0 – A tiny hint of agave and some real sweetness. It’s overall not great at first until the second act comes in with the more complex flavors and what’s here while not bad – isn’t good either. Given the Blanco it’s surprising how bold that was, and how lackluster the aged version is.
Aftertaste: 9.0 – Those spices linger on for a damn long while. And you get all those waves of agave, vanilla and spice, and a bit of citrus. It’s overall one of the better reposado backends we’ve had here.
Burn/Smooth: 8.0 – First sip will hit you a little, but the following are actually much more subtle than some other tequilas. It goes down smooth, there’s a long linger tingle of a burn, but most importantly it gives a very nice warmth here. For a reposado this is stellar work.
Aroma: 8.5 – No surprise here in that the description matches up with their blanco. It’s overall a very delicious smelling tequila that smells of agave and fresh fruits. We’ll also admit that yes there are spices, and one could be convinced of vanilla as well. It being aged it feels a little muted, but that’s not a downside as it overall works really well.
Honesty: 7.0 – The box here says a lot, which is often to our detriment as really only about 50% of the time can you find a copy of that text written on the internet – the other it’s just the poor editor writing it out. That being said – none of their claims were an outright lie. So yeah we’ll knock some points off for putting awards on your labeling (as we do), and sure we would have preferred the ‘nothing but the bottle text’ approach, but kudos for the story and notes without being bullshit.
Mixability: 6.5
W/ Rocks: 6.5 – So that takes away the warmth until the very end of the lingering aftertaste. The flavors here sort of shuffle around – overall for a reposado on the rocks it’s nice, but even how lackluster this is at first neat, that delicious aftertaste is not the same and poorer for it.
Tequila Sunrise: 7.0 – Here the spice flavors are at least more present and really add to the experience. But it’s still a bit short from being a truly great sunrise, and if honest – is much better neat.
Margarita: 6.0 – We know (although wasn’t scored as of the review) the Blanco makes a far better marg. This while it does impart some flavor is just altogether muted and what it brings isn’t the right hammer for the nail.
Value: 6.0 – So a full 10 dollars more for this over the Blanco. Hmm. Nah – fuck it, buy both. It’s a Christmas tradition here of sharing a tequila shot or 2 around Christmas with our fathers, and each year involves trying to remember a tequila to bring for such occasion – it’s safe to say this is really the big contender this year. Fifty isn’t thrifty though so it’s not going to do like super good here.
Google Shop Average: $48
Website: http://www.casanoble.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 7.0
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Metric Score: 50/70 |+| Metric Average: 7.14 |+| Reviewer Average: 7.0
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Final Thoughts: It’s challenging for me as the reviewer to not go higher here, or to even match with the Blanco. However the main problem there is that for a full 10 dollars cheaper you can get something better in a Margarita which at the lounge and for most people is where tequila ends up. However the effect here is almost trying to think of it as a proto-anejo in terms of price, usage, and taste. Because that aftertaste really has that complexity, and there’s just no need to mix it. It’s a guarantee though that had the taste not been just a bit less meh – this could have gotten a review score of 8 or more.
