Review: Don Fulano Tequila Blanco and Reposado
Don Fulano is a new tequila brand from E. & J. Gallo’s spirits division. Well — new to us, the brand actually dates back to 2002, and the founders of the brand boast tequila distillation in their lineage, dating back over 140 years.
Per Gallo:
Don Fulano is of the last family-owned tequilas that is 100% self-sufficient in agave supply, allowing them to control the quality of their tequila from farm to bottle – from hand-selecting mature agave each harvest to a dual distillation process passed down from generations. This also helps ensure each bottle has high-quality ingredients free of any additives (the brand is a part of Tequila Matchmaker’s Additive-Free alliance), including 100% estate-grown, mature agave, proprietary yeast and natural spring volcanic water.
The operation makes five expressions, two of which we are reviewing today.
Both are 80 proof. NOM 1146.
Don Fulano Tequila Blanco – Peppery and lightly green on the nose, but also laced with notes of cinnamon, giving the tequila a certain breakfast-adjacent quality. Otherwise it’s mild and approachable, one of the gentlest blanco tequilas I can recall nosing in years. The palate hardly detracts from that setup, adding notes of lemon and lime peels to that baking cabinet quality. A simple grind of white pepper, a spritz of floral perfume, and a gentle note of vanilla linger as the finish — short and to the point — comes into focus. If you like your blanco tequila clean and shiny, this blanco will not disappoint. Reviewed: Lot #18DFB24. A- / $45 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Don Fulano Tequila Reposado – Matured for 8 to 11 months in French Limousin oak. Oak aging gives Don Fulano a lift and a twist, but less than you’d expect. Here the tequila takes on a stronger nose of fruit tones, evoking baked apples with a more forceful cinnamon element, with maple underpinning that still-present vanilla character and a considerably lighter green agave element. It’s not quite candylike either on nose or palate, but it’s definitely on the sweet side, and the palate presents a stronger note of caramel-covered apples, shortbread cookies, all dashed with vanilla. The finish is much more tenacious than the blanco, chewier and hinting at the underlying agave in vagaries that pop in and out as the creamy conclusion slowly comes to an end. Reviewed: Lot #17DFR24. B+ / $55 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
Don Fulano Tequila Blanco
$45
