8.5

Tequila Celosa Rosé Joven Review

Tequila Celosa Rosé Joven Review

We’re already a couple summers past the social media memeification of rosé wine that happened a few years ago, but the aftershocks continue to play out, as marketers try whatever they possibly can to reach demographics that by and large just aren’t drinking quite as much as they used to. That means some brands are still playing into the “rosé all day”-type energy, often in an effort to attach the memetic potential of rosé to spirits in the super-premium price range. And taking an initial look at Tequila Celosa Rosé Joven, I couldn’t help but approach it with that slightly cynical sort of air. It just looks like a product conceived from its first moments in a cynical attempt to appeal to 30-something millennial white women who will just dump any tequila they come across into yet another weeknight margarita.

The elevated price point–this bad boy is packing a $140 MSRP–also draws some considerable scrutiny. One has to wonder, what exactly are the production differences between this bottle, and a similarly themed release such as Calirosa Tequila Rosa Blanco, which is likewise finished in red wine casks for that pink hue, but instead carries an MSRP of merely $50? We’re not exactly given enough detail to know off hand what the differences are, but the proof ultimately turns out to be in the tasting: Incredulous as I might be when it comes to this kind of potential gimmick, Tequila Celosa Rosé Joven’s best selling point is the simple quality of what is in their bottle.

This is effectively blanco tequila, which the company notes is the product of 7-year-old Blue Weber agave. The pinas are cooked via autoclave at NOM 1479 and double distilled in stainless steel pot stills, before being finished for a period of unknown length in French oak that previously held red wine from somewhere in California’s Napa Valley. The resulting spirit is bottled at the standard 40% ABV (80 proof) for the U.S. market.

So with that said, let’s get to tasting this wine-infused tequila spirit.

The first thing to note with Tequila Celosa Rosé Joven is that the color is something of a mirage–it has a lovely though very pale pink hue in the bottle, but in the glass it doesn’t have enough volume for that coloration to be easily visible. This may speak to quite a quick secondary maturation, or simply drier barrels with less wine left in them; I can’t say for sure. It’s mostly an aesthetic note, and one that doesn’t affect the quality of what turns out to be a pretty nice spirit.

On the nose, this tequila leads off with earthy, roasty agave sweetness that is pretty vivacious and up front, combined with other sweeter impressions of orange peel, vanilla cake and a little distinct cherry. As is usually the case with this type of release, it can be difficult to draw a distinction between what you expect to taste because of appearance/finishing techniques and what you are actually tasting, but the fruit here thankfully isn’t subtle to the point of questioning its existence. There are also more mineral characteristics, and some petrichor/summer rain.

On the palate this is round and pretty sweet, with a silky mouthfeel that stands out in a very pleasant way for the relatively low proof in particular. Mild to moderate peppery spice has been smoothed out here by vanilla cream, macerated strawberry and orange spice cake–Constant Comment tea, almost. There’s some rose petal-like florals, but it also doesn’t lose track at any point of the peppery, earthy roasted agave, which intertwines with stony mineral notes. Ethanol heat is extremely mild, making this quite approachable to practically any drinker.

The overall impression here is of an effortless and really quite pleasant neat drinking tequila, which sweetness that makes it accessible to a wide audience, and just enough fruitiness to make it seem distinctive. There’s a breed of agave purist who would probably find this “too sweet,” but I certainly don’t. In general, I can’t help but be impressed–I was fully prepared for the wine cask aging to be little more than a gimmick without much concrete affect on the flavor profile, but Tequila Celosa Rosé Joven instead offers a seemingly effortless balance between tequila bonafides and its slightly exotic American wine/French oak influence. The MSRP is on the rough side, but at least the results are strong.

Distillery: Tequila Celosa Rose
City: Jalisco, Mexico
Style: Blanco tequila
ABV: 40% (80 proof)
Availability: 750 ml bottles, $140 MSRP


Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.

 
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