Neta 70cl - Barríl 2021 - Wili+Ramón Sánchez

MezcalReviews: 4.5*/5

aarild: 'On the nose, I’m pretty blown away by buttery toffee aromas, with some herbal hints of astringency and ash. Very intriguing. The palate initially offers some vegetal fruitiness of guava, then leather and tobacco. After two seconds you really get into deep, viscous flavours of cocoa butter, roasted coffee beans, kalamata olives, allspice and artichoke. Incredibly oily mouthfeel and lingering aftertaste. I really love this one and hope that Neta will keep working with these two guys. Try it if you find it!'

About Rancho 3 Carnales: This team of two brothers (Ramón and Wilfredo), their brother-in-law (Primitivo), and their cousin (Hugo) represent a new generation of palenqueros paving their own lane and building a future for themselves, their families, and their community at large in the world of agave cultivation and distillation. All four men descend from multiple generations of magueyeros and palenqueros and uphold these legacies with great pride.

With the price of agave soaring beyond previously imaginable levels and the burgeoning “outside” interest in agave spirits, much has changed in the last decade. For the first time, it seems possible to maintain a rural lifestyle and land-based culture while simultaneously engaging in and benefiting from new commercial opportunities in often distant markets. The generation of income and infrastructures through the production and sale of small-batch spirits has started to create greater social, cultural, and economic equity for many villages in Oaxaca; along with others in Logoche, Ramón, Wilfredo, Hugo, and Primitivo are determined to continue to realize this potential through perseverance, despite the many challenges and obstacles that exist.

In farming and ranching communities throughout rural Mexico, migration is often a uniting theme in the lives of those who were born in the 80s and 90s. Opportunities were scant, and people did what they needed to do in order to support their families. Many of the young men of Logoche left to search for work in other Mexican cities or further north to the United States. While some remained in the U.S. and send remittances back as regularly as possible, after several years abroad, Ramón, Wilfredo, Hugo, and Primitivo, returned to their ranchos and now find themselves in a position to build a different future in their community.

All four men lost their fathers in their youth, and as teenagers, seeking out new opportunities in Los Cabos, Baja California and in the southern United States before returning to Logoche. Ramón García Sanchez, was born in 1987, and vividly remembers making his first batch of mezcal - pure Bicuixe - after finishing middle school in 2000, under the watchful eyes of his father, Constantino, and grandfather, Don Nicolás. His brother Wilfredo, aka Wili, was born in 1989, and also stepped into their grandfather’s palenque as a teenager to make his first batch in 2004. Risking everything, the two left shortly after accompanying Elvia, their older sister. They saved money from their time working in chicken processing plants and other gigs in the South, and boys returned home as young men ready to work the agave that their mother, Margarita, had been planting in their absence. Waiting for them, as well, were participatory roles in the cooperative Grupo Logoche, founded in 2008 by their mother, uncles, and neighbours.

Today, all four maestros work out of a palenque built by the illustrious and now retired Margarita Sánchez, mother of Ramón and Wilfredo. Some batches are made independently while others are the result of combined efforts between the family members. As with all productions in Logoche, the horneada, or the cooking of the agave is a communal affair in which help from all available hands is received and reciprocated. A hearty meal always follows. Doña Margarita hospitality is truly unmatched, and it has been a privilege to learn from her and each of these four palenqueros over the years.

Amongst the four, they cultivate nearly every type of maguey under the Logoche sun through both clone and seed, working nearly exclusively with micro-endemic species that they grow in a mix of different soil types. Annually, the group makes less than 2,000 litres of mostly Espadín and Agave karwinskii varieties, but has begun to experiment with the occasional Jabalín and Cucharillo (Dasylirion sp).

Soil types: colorada, roja, cascajudo, blanca, negra, Oven: 10-ton capacity, conical, earthen oven, Mashing: machete, axe, and shredder, Fermentation: 4 Montezuma cypress sabino wood tanks. 1200-litre capacity., Distillation: Los Carnales use two different copper pot stills, one with a 250-litre capacity, and the other, slightly larger at 300 litres.

• Maguey(es): Barril (Agave angustifolia var.)
• Provenance of the maguey: Homegrown
• Producer: Ramón and Wilfredo García Sánchez
• Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán
• Date of production: June 2021
• Soil type: red earth/ tierra roja parcel known as El Llano
• Rest time after harvest: five days
• Oven: Conical earthen oven; six days with mesquite and oakwood
• Rest time after oven: six days days
• Maceration: Machete and mechanical shredder
• Fermentation: Native yeasts; two 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood vats
• Dry fermentation time: 24 hours
• Wet fermentation time: six days
• Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills
• Final composition: Heads, hearts, and high-proof tails
• Batch size: 100L
• ABV: 47.1%

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