Château Briefing | Episode 25: Diageo Wins 100% Agave Tequila Lawsuit

In Episode 25 of Château Briefing — the fine wine and spirits podcast from Blanco & Gomez Wine Merchants on the King's Road, Chelsea — William and Sophia turn to a legal story with real consequences for the tequila category: a New York federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Diageo over whether two of its best-known brands were truthfully labelled as 100 percent agave.

The claim against Don Julio and Casamigos

The lawsuit alleged that Diageo's Don Julio and Casamigos tequilas were falsely advertised as being made from 100 percent agave. For a category where "100% agave" is a key marker of quality and authenticity, and one that buyers often pay a premium for, the allegation went to the heart of how these brands are sold.

Why the court dismissed it

The judge ruled that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence of widespread adulteration. At the centre of that finding was the size of the testing: only five bottles had been tested, which the court considered an inadequate sample from which to draw conclusions about the products as a whole.

Testing that didn't connect to the purchases

The judge also noted that the testing lacked the necessary temporal and geographic links to the bottles the plaintiffs had actually bought. In other words, the results could not be tied to the specific products in question, which undermined the plaintiffs' claims of personal injury from misleading labels.

Diageo's response

Diageo welcomed the decision and defended the quality and integrity of its spirits. William and Sophia discuss what the ruling does and does not settle: it is a finding that the evidence presented was not enough, rather than a broad examination of how every bottle in the category is made.

Similar cases are still going

The Diageo decision is not the end of the story. Similar legal challenges involving other prominent tequila brands are ongoing across the United States, so the question of how "100% agave" claims are tested and proven is likely to keep coming back before the courts.

Listen & explore

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Blanco & Gomez carries a carefully chosen range of premium spirits alongside our fine wines. Browse our spirits selection at bgwm.co.uk, or visit us at 410 King's Road, Chelsea, London.