Mexico Samuel Altamirano

Tasting Notes: Fig, White Grape, Jasmine

Region: Nepopoalco, Zongolica, Veracruz, Mexico

Growing Elevation: 1,400 masl 

Producer: Samuel Altamirano

Varietal: Geisha, Bourbon, Sarchimor

Process: Honey

New Mexico offerings have arrived and we can't wait for y'all to try!

The dry fragrance opens with plum and molasses, rounded out by herbal notes and a lift of Meyer lemon. Once water is poured, the aroma settles into dried fruit and herbal tea. The first sip is floral and sweet - jasmine up front with fresh apricot following right behind it. As the cup cools, the sweetness of fig and white grape open up as the cup becomes more complex. The acidity is medium-low in intensity with a rounded key lime characteristic, and the body drinks like a dry white wine at medium intensity. We love how layered this cup is while still drinking clean enough to reach for every morning. Grab a bag online or stop by the shop to give it a try!

Samuel farms in Nepopoalco, a small community tucked into the Sierra Madre Oriental above Zongolica, Veracruz. He works the family farm, El Estribo, alongside his father Adán, In 2014 the Altamiranos took first place in Mexico's Cup of Excellence with a record-setting score of 91.59, along with a Presidential Award. A remarkable result for a farm producing only 50 to 60 quintals a year, and it says everything about the attention each tree here receives.

That same attention carries into the mill. Ripe cherry is floated and pulped the day it arrives, fermented for 48 hours, and then slow dried in guardiolas at 45°C. This patient approach protects the sugars and the delicate floral characteristic the Geisha brings to this lot, while the Bourbon and Sarchimor components round it out with sweetness and structure.