Distillery

Tequila Fortaleza (NOM 1493)

Owned by Independent (Sauza family) · Tequila, Jalisco — Tequila Valley (Lowlands), Mexico · Founded 2005

Restored 2005 (originally founded 1873 as the Sauza family's first distillery before the family sold the Sauza brand). Run by 5th-generation descendant Guillermo Erickson Sauza. Traditional methodology — agaves cooked in stone ovens, crushed by tahona stone wheel, fermented with wild yeast, distilled in copper pot stills. Fortaleza is widely cited by tequila critics as the platonic reference for traditional tequila method.