La Luna Pechuga de Jabali

Lot 31 – 48.51%

Right off the nose you get intense stew aromas. Like walking into a kitchen with a slow cooker dinner ready to eat. Roasted fennel, rosemary, thyme, and sage. Some raw potato and root vegetables. Barnyard like scents – wet mulch, moss, and hay. Floral dryer sheets. A fresh green lumber smell. Peppercorns, all-spice berries, with a very light lime leaf. A bit more brine than distinct meat salinity that I expected. Kind of like a salt cure.

On the palate there’s a slightly sour or fermented flavor. Salted green tomatoes. Almonds and cashews. Oatmeal. Mushrooms with a lox and capers. Tinge of wood smoke in there at the back of the palate. I’m missing those herbs I got off the nose. There is also an unexpected sweetness like sugared dates and cooked granny smith apples. A very unique flavor for sure.

The finish has that herb kick I was searching for. Dry rosemary and sage. The stew flavors are also returning with more fennel and green onion. A bit of aniseed and all-spice. Bitter earthy wood flavors like a wet, mossy forest floor. Mushrooms coming through well and true. Kind of a balancing act with the nose and finish complimenting each other.

This is a rather unique mezcal. I expected more salinity but what I got was fantastic nonetheless. I really rather enjoyed the fennel, aniseed flavors in combination with a tomato based stew. It really grounded the flavors against the earthy root vegetables. Comparing this against the Borrego from Antonio Sonido, I might lean more towards Mal Bien’s offering if I was looking for a bit more salt than the tangy brine flavors I got from this La Luna bottle. The addition of fruit really played a nice a role in the recipe. It reminds me of thanksgiving stuffing with spiced sausage and apples.

Lote 31.
?- clear
?- faint drying & warming impact.
Aromas of vegetal notes, lots of herbaceousness, thyme, oregano and floral honeys.
Adequate & complex production.
Average length and fine character.
?- coating & astringent effect; sufficient smooth alcohol; medium body.
Primarily sour & bitter taste, with sweet & savory highlights; buttery smoothness.
Flavors of soil, dirt, vegetal, floral, clay, ginger, and light peppercorn.
Medium concentration flavor intensity, slight complex character, harmonious balance.
Straightforward and very long finish.
Very Good to excellent overall impression.

*I really wish more of the wild boar came through, I think it got lost with all the herbaceous and vegetal notes. Interesting sample, and unique.

Learn more about organoleptic evaluation at the International Wine & Spirits Guild’s seminar in Fine Spirits,
or more on Agave Spirits certifications through the Agave Spirits Institute.

Picked this up at Moreno’s while visiting Chicago recently. It’s, um, really special. Tons of herbal/spice notes up front, including some unfamiliar ones (which I presume come from things I’m not super familiar with, like avocado seeds and leaves); some sweet, some savory, all delicious. Can you perceive the boar? It certainly has a viscous mouthfeel and some ‘gamey’ flavors, so, maybe? In any event, it’s a super fun, unique, delicious mezcal. Don’t hesitate if you get the chance to try it.