ALL ABOUT FOOD: Agave subtleties found at Javier’s

The reign of terroir has begun! What is that, you might say? Clearly, if you need to ask, you are obviously not a member of the American Food and Wine Snoot Society. Anyone in the know is aware that this term, normally associated with wine, is currently being used to describe chocolate, coffee, olive oil, cheese, meats, honey, etc. and now, tequila. All right, all right we’ll tell you what it means!

The original French term was “gout de terroir,” which translates as the “taste of place.” Shortened to just terroir, it referrers to a group of vineyards from the same location, sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes, wine-making style and traditions. The expanded use of the term, on the one hand, contributes to snob appeal and increased prices, but on the other, could potentially promote artisanal farming as opposed to agribusiness.

This has been a long digression to introduce the subject of a tequila tasting at Javier’s Cantina featuring Ocho Tequila, the first ultra-premium single estate vintage tequila. “Single estate” refers to one piece of land with its own microclimate. This is terroir in agave. Different agave-growing estates at varying altitudes will produce different nose and flavor characteristics for each vintage of tequila. The agave is hand-picked and hand-crafted for Ocho tequilas. Each bottle is numbered and stamped with the estate name and vintage, just like wine.

Tequila was North America’s first distilled drink and first commercially produced alcohol. Its roots reach back into pre-Hispanic times when natives fermented agave sap to make a beer-like drink called pulque. Then, mescal, tequila’s grandparent, was produced a few decades after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, around 1535. When the invading Spaniards ran out of brandy, they started to distill the sap of the readily available agave plant, producing mescal, the first indigenous “spirit.” It was produced near the city of Tequila, which may account for its name. Blue agave, the tequila agave, is native to Jalisco, flourishing in its high altitudes and sandy soil. It wasn’t until the late 19th century, when above-ground, steam heated ovens came into use, that true tequila made its appearance.

Tequila is produced from the heart of an agave plant, when the heart weighs between 75 and 200 pounds. The plant is anywhere from 8 to 12 years old. The heart is stripped of its leaves and heated to remove the sap, then fermented and distilled.

Commercial cultivation, which interrupts the wild plant’s ability to pollinate naturally, has led to a considerable loss of genetic diversity in farmed blue agave, making it much more vulnerable to various diseases. In fact, there was a blight in the early 2000s that has resulted in lower yield and higher prices; and due to the long maturation of the plant, will continue to affect prices for years to come.

Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:

?oro (gold): un-aged and adulterated, which means that caramel, fructose, glycerin and wood flavoring can be added to resemble aged tequila. The taste of less expensive tequilas has more bite, commonly due to additives like grain alcohol.

?blanco or plata (white or silver): un-aged pure spirit. 100% agave blanco or plata is harsher with bold agave flavors up front.

?reposado (rested): aged for a minimum of two months but not longer than a year in oak barrels. The aging process changes the color of tequila “” the longer it ages, the darker it gets.

?añejo (aged or vintage): aged a minimum of one year and less than three, in oak. Both reposado and añejo are smoother, subtler and more complex. They take on the woody flavor of the cask and mellow with age.

?extra añejo (extra aged): aged a minimum of three years in oak, the smoothest and “woodiest.”

At Javier’s Cantina, on a warm summer night, we attended the worldwide launch of Ocho brand tequilas by W. L. Lyons Brown, a Laguna resident and founder of Altamar Brands, a distributor of fine spirits. Lyons describes his three new tequilas, Plata, Reposado and Añejo as “”¦ the unveiling of terroir as a genuine product concept in tequila”¦just as wine is recognized for being limited, vintage and collectible. It’s the first brand ever to bear a ‘tequila vintage.’” They are produced from a total of 11 estates, each with a different microclimate. Each vintage will come from just one of these so that every vintage of these three tequilas will taste differently every year. On the back label of the bottle is the story of the estate and tasting notes on that vintage.

Ocho tequila is aged in oak barrels for the minimum amount of time required by regulation, so as to minimize “woodiness” and maximize the sweetness of the agave.

The invited crowd at Javier’s was enjoying the free Ocho margaritas and hors d’oeuvres, when Lyons Brown stood to address the crowd, give a brief introduction and preside over the tasting. As each sampling was presented, he told us what to expect in the nose and the taste. We confess that we missed some of the subtleties of these high-end tequilas. For example, as we sniffed the Reposado, we were supposed to smell flowers, agave, vanilla, cooked orchard fruits and last but not least, egg custard. To us, it smelled like tequila. The palate was to experience a balance of fruit and acidity with soft agave subtleties, tapenade, gentle oak, vanilla and a sweetness that lingers. To us, it also tasted like tequila “” quite delicious, but again we know very little about tequila except it’s something they put in margaritas to make you drunk.

We are sure you tequila aficionados will appreciate the subtleties of this fine, new product, which will be available only at Javier’s, Sage and The Montage.

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned A La Carte for 20 years. They can be reached for comments or questions at themarkos755@yahoo.com