Agave, Terroir and Tequila
You have opened a bottle of Dahlia, taken it to your nose while closing your eyes. The fruity and sweet scents have triggered your imagination: "How such a crystal clear spirit carries so much exuberance while being so smooth and delicate?"
The secret sleeps in the heart and soul of Mexico. If you wander in the street of Mexico City, you'll inevitably bump into tiny hole-in-the-wall boutiques with a sign that says "Pulqueria." Pulque is the pre-Columbian non-distilled version for Mezcal and Tequila that Aztecs would drink only at religious ceremonies or before a battle. The Conquistadores had no interest in the 6% alcohol content Pulque until they ran out of brandy. That's when they built the first distillery in the county of Tequila (hence the catchy name!), 40 miles northwest of Guadalajara in the Jalisco highlands (Los Altos de Jalisco) of the central-western Mexican state of Jalisco.
Quickly, the opportunity to mix Agaves from anywhere in Mexico took precedence over the subtle nuances offered by the small batches. The "mass production" scheme to guarantee that Tequila could only be made in Mexico couldn't be stopped by the subtleness of the artisanal approach.
However, Agaves are to Tequila what grape varieties are to wine. Think terroir. Agaves are gigantic pineapple look-alike plants half-buried in the ground, sucking up rain, sun, and soil nutrients. There are more than 160 kinds of Agave, and every one of them has very distinctive characteristics and taste. Some may take up to 30 years to develop fully. The Blue Weber is one of the fastest to grow, with an average of seven years to reach maturity. An eternity compared to any grape varietals, but that doesn't make them less sensitive to their environment.
The red volcanic soils in the region of Tequila are very well suited for the Blue Weber. The ones planted in the highlands ("Los Altos" 5700 to 6700 ft above sea level) get larger and sweeter in aroma and taste. The ones harvested in the valley (4200 to 5200 ft above sea level) have a more herbaceous fragrance and flavor. To stay in the wine analogy, an agave from the highland is sweeter and fruitier, just like a Zinfandel from Croatia or Montenegro. In contrast, an agave from the valley will have a slightly fuller body with expressive and enticing aromas like a Zinfandel from Napa and Sonoma. Same grapes/agaves but with a somewhat different outcome according to the soil that fed them.
Tequila's recent wave of popularity (sky-rocketing for the past few years) coupled with the desire for more premium spirits has opened the door to a reevaluation of the importance of terroir and a rekindling of the nuances of flavors between one batch to another. It is slowly outclassing the reign of the additives (sugars and different flavors) that homogenize the tastes throughout the production line. The provenance of the Agaves no longer takes the second seat behind the volume of production and its over standardization. Premium Tequila is bringing back the desire to reconnect with the pride of the terroir.
Where does Dahlia stand when it comes to terroir? Preserving the natural silkiness of our Tequila is crucial, so we work with Jimadores who put their ethics and love for their land above all considerations and only deliver mature batches of Agaves coming from one estate where they are all registered and traceable. Dahlia is committed to quality, and we believe that a luxury tequila starts with the Agaves themselves and the land where they were grown.