We recently reviewed LeBron James’ Lobos 1707 joven tequila, and really enjoyed it. It was more complex than a standard blanco tequila (due to some time well spent in PX barrels) and it elevated a standard margarita. But since I usually enjoy a reposado tequila more than its unaged counterpart, I am even more excited to find out if their reposado is as good as their joven.
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History
Lobos 1707 is an independent spirits producer based in Mexico founded in 2020 by Diego Osorio, who partnered with Dia Simms as CEO and LeBron James as a primary investor. Brought together with James by a mutual friend and financial advisor, Osorio has worked to create a tequila that is inspired by his great-great-grandfather.
The process used to finish their tequila pays homage to the process of Osorio’s great-great-grandfather transporting tequila from Mexico back to his native Spain in sherry wine barrels. He found that this final aging in “sherry-bathed oak created a smooth and elegant Tequila unlike any other.” This lore from 1707 fuels the process to create Lobos tequila with distillers from both Mexico and Spain.
Product
- Learn More: What Is Tequila?
As you’d expect from a good tequila, this spirit starts with 100% blue weber agave plants that are grown and harvested in the Mexican state of Jalisco. These plants are grown for 6 years before being harvested by hand by local jimadors.
Once harvested, the leaves are shorn from the hard inner core, or pinas, of the agave. This core is then roasted for several hours in stainless steel vats, converting the fibers in the core into a sweet liquid that will be fermented and twice distilled to create a blanco tequila that will serve as the foundation for the joven, repasado, and extra anjeo varieties of Lobos 1707.
This reposado tequila is first aged in American white oak barrels. After 6 months of rest, the aged tequila is blended with just a little Lobos 1707 Extra Anejo tequila, and placed in Pedro Ximenez (PX) wine barrels from Spain to finish the aging process.
Packaging
I really enjoy the aesthetic of this tall, slender, rectangular bottle. There is a slight inward taper as you move from the base towards the middle followed by a flaring of the bottle as it gets towards the neck. The top of the bottle is just a little bit bigger than the base, like an imposing linebacker (or a towering basketball star). There is a short shoulder and stout neck topped with a synthetic and wood stopper.
The bottle is clear glass, which combined with the single miniscule label helps to show off the spirit inside — in this case, that spirit is a beautiful golden wheat color. The label is only on the bottom half of the bottle, printed on heavy stock, and only has the Lobos logo and basic information about the spirit.
Embossed in the glass near the top of the bottle is the Osorio family crest, a nod to the lineage of the process. On the back near the bottom is a compass rose, which is intended to represent the blending of the tequila from Mexico and the sherry from Spain.
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Neat
I do not think I’ve ever been so excited to taste a spirit before even taking a sip. At first, you get aroma notes that are common to most tequilas: the sweet agave and a rich earthy herbal note. But underneath that, there is also pineapple, apricot, walnuts, and some slight vanilla. This is a huge increase in complexity compared to it’s joven counterpart. The combination of the time in American white oak and the PX barrels is definitely adding a lot of aromas.
Some spirits have a tendency to smell amazing and then taste mediocre, but here all of the components are present when you take a sip. In fact, the most present flavors are the pineapple, walnut, and vanilla. The agave and some of the botanicals take more of a backseat, but it really works well. There is a very slight black pepper burn at the finish, but it helps to pull the everything together. With it’s light wheat color, this is a tequila made for a whiskey drinker.
On Ice
Adding ice to the spirit can change the flavors — sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. In this case, it’s undoubtedly a positive improvement. When trying the joven variety I said, “I could drink this all day on ice, with nothing else” — and that statement is even more true with the reposado.
All of the flavors are still here, and as an added bonus the interesting botanicals and vanilla make more of a pronounced appearance. The only negative change is that some of the fruit notes are more muted in comparison.
Also, thanks to the ice, the slight burn that could be felt on the finish is all but gone, creating a very well rounded experience.
Cocktail (Margarita)
The joven version of this tequila made a pretty good margarita — earthy, balanced, and complex. The expectation with a more mature spirit is that you should see more of the barrel maturation flavors coming through and providing some sweetness and vanilla in addition to those base components (and thereby justifying the reason for the price increase).
To that end, the botanicals and vanilla that were prominent on ice are clearly still present in this cocktail, adding new layers of flavor to a traditional margarita. They blend with the triple sec and lime to create a deep and complex drink that goes above and beyond the standard edition. This addresses the only complaint I could voice about the joven version of this cocktail, so I’m completely without criticism here.
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Overall Rating
For a long time, Clase Azul was my favorite reposado… and, ok, I still think that side by side it’s a better overall product. But Clase Azul is almost 3x the price of this Lobos reposado. Lobos 1707 has put out a phenomenal reposado for a third of the cost, making this is my new favorite reposado. There is a level of care in this product that clearly comes through in the end.
So far, Lobos 1707 is 2-for-2 in creating fantastic tequila, which is a problem for me — because now I need to go try their Extra Anejo.
| Lobos Reposado Tequila Produced By: Lobos Production Location: Jalisco, MexicoClassification: Tequila Aging: Reposado Proof: 40% ABV Price: $47.99 / 750 ml Overall Rating:  |
Overall Rating: 5/5
Like the 2016 Cavaliers team, this tequila delivered the championship it promised.
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