Don Mateo Mezcal Cupreata

Don Mateo Cupreata is made with semi-wild agave Cupreata by maestro mezcalero Emilio Vieyra. The terroir of Michoacan is characterized by its rivers; the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt with many active, dormant and extinct volcanoes; and the variety of forests from conifer to tropical. The Vieyra Vinata is cut into the side of a hill in the steep highlands above Morelia in the Rio Balsas region surrounded by temperate evergreen forest. The high-altitude climate is characterized by sandy-soil and moderate rainfall. The forest floor is soft with pine needles, moss and a red sandy clay; all of which are influences in the flavor profile of Don Mateo Cupreata. The agave used in this mezcal begin life in the Vieyra agave nursery. Once they grow to a healthy size, they are replanted on the mountain slopes surrounding the palenque, and left to grow undisturbed until reaching maturity. Once mature, the agave Cupreata are roasted in a pit oven, fermented using naturally occurring yeasts in Oak Wood tanks, and double distilled in a Filipino style still.