Fortaleza Reposado Tequila
Fortaleza Reposado Tequila is a 750mL reposado bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) — the house's tahona-crushed, copper-pot blanco rested in used American oak barrels at Destileria La Fortaleza in Tequila, Jalisco (NOM 1493). Each lot is aged individually rather than to a single fixed schedule, and the brand's process notes give the rest at 7 months. Order it online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Style: Reposado tequila, 100% blue agave
- Aging: Rested in used American oak (re-chipped and re-charred); each lot individually aged — the brand's process notes give 7 months
- Agave: Blue agave from the Tequila Valley, Jalisco
- Production: Stone-oven cooked 36 hours, 100% tahona-crushed, open-air wood-tank fermentation, double distilled in copper pot stills
- Origin: Destileria La Fortaleza, Tequila, Jalisco — NOM 1493
A Short Rest That Keeps the Agave in Front
Reposado is where Fortaleza's old-method blanco meets oak without surrendering to it. The production up to the barrel is unchanged — stone oven, two-ton tahona, open-air wooden fermenters with the family yeast, copper pot stills — and then the spirit rests in used American oak barrels that the distillery re-chips and re-chars, a gentler wood regime than new barrels would give. The brand ages each lot on its own rather than blending to a rigid timetable, so the rest stays a seasoning — caramel and spice around a core that still tastes of cooked agave and earth. Browse the house on the Fortaleza vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Per the brand's official notes: aromas of citrus, caramel, butter, cooked agave and sage; a palate of cooked agave and citrus with vanilla, apple, earth and cinnamon; and a long, rich, delicately spicy finish over an oily texture. The blanco's olive-and-pepper edge is still there, rounded by the oak.
How to Enjoy
Neat or over one large cube, this is the Fortaleza to sit with. It also makes a reposado Margarita with real depth. Compare it against the unaged intensity of the Still Strength Blanco and the longer-aged Fortaleza Anejo, or browse our tequila collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is Fortaleza Reposado aged?
Each lot is aged individually in used American oak, with the aging statement carried on the bottle; the brand's process notes give the rest as 7 months. That sits comfortably inside the reposado class, which runs from two months to a year.
What barrels does Fortaleza use?
Used American oak barrels, re-chipped and re-charred at the distillery — a regime chosen to season the tequila without burying the agave under new-wood vanilla.
Who makes Fortaleza Reposado?
Guillermo Erickson Sauza, fifth-generation Sauza distiller, at Destileria La Fortaleza in Tequila, Jalisco (NOM 1493) — the same tahona and copper-pot production as the blanco, plus the barrel rest.
Barrel-rested tahona tequila, lot by lot — order Fortaleza Reposado online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.
