Around the World with La Vuelta

La Vuelta — 3.80 of 5 palos — reviewed 4/16/2012 Type: Traditional (con palo) Region: Obera, Misiones, Argentina. Company: Coca-Cola

Description:

Beautifully crafted, La Vuelta hit the right chords with this melodious harmony of strength, sweetness, and just enough bitterness to create a well-rounded flavor profile. This is some of Argentine yerba at its best. La Vuelta is Coca-Cola's entry into the yerba mate market, and have based their company in Uruguay. “La Vuelta” means, more or less, “the round” (to go around.) The story of this company is that they brought mate around the world—United States, Japan, Ireland, Mexico, et al.— and decided to formulate a mate with “just the right taste” for the world to enjoy and share. I love to see such a company with founding principals that truly get to the heart of what mate is all about: sharing and experiencing. Much respect to La Vuelta!

Cut 3.75 palos

Vibrant green. Good PPL-R. Nice uniform cut.

Body/Texture/Taste 4.25 palos

I was surprised to find such a tasty yerba in the sea of Argentine mates. This yerba snaps with bready notes interweaved with sweet subtleties. No harsh kicks. Low astringency. Beautifully bitter. Lemon. Orange.

Nose 4.00 palos

Nice sweet aroma. Like a bed of flowers. Springy. Fresh. Vernal.

Finish 3.80 palos

Smooth, stable finish. No harshness. Milk chocolate. Buttery. Subtle citrus.

Cycle 3.00 palos

Decent mid cycle; closer to the short cycle end. Expected from such a smooth mate. Pleasant green-teaing phase.

Overall: 3.80 palos

Recommendation

Excellent yerba. Fans of Nobleza Gaucha, Guayakí Traditional, and Cruz de Malta will appreciate this wonderfully smooth, yet bold yerba. This yerba really has legs! The stability of taste isn’t something always so easily found in yerbas. The movement and play of the various sweet to sour to bready to bitter tastes is noteworthy. Very Kaleidoscopic hints and teases of flavors. I highly recommend you add La Vuelta to your shelf.