Bichi "No Sapiens" Tecate 2023

Some of the most authentic and delicious wines are born from the least expected places and most unlikely collaborations. In the rugged mountains of Mexico's Baja California Norte, El Equipo Bichi has recently put together one of the most exciting new projects in the world of wine. Noel and Jair Tellez, their mother Ana Montaño, and their team of collaborators produce beautifully expressive natural wines from mostly head-pruned, non-irrigated, organically farmed vineyards. The Spanish conquistadors first planted vines in Mexico in the 1500's, pre-dating vine growing in both Chile and Argentina. About 90% of Mexico's wine is produced in Valle de Guadalupe, with many of the oldest vineyards centered around Tecate, very close to the U.S. border. The soils in these regions are mainly sandy loam over granite, excellent for winegrowing, and some of the most distinctive vineyards are planted as high as 2,500 ft in elevation. The nearby Pacific Ocean brings a lovely spine of salinity into the wines and helps moderate temperatures, providing more moisture here than to other regions of Mexico. The Tellez family moved to Baja from neighboring Sonora (hence the name Bichi, which means "naked" in the Sonoran dialect) in the early 1970's. Jair is a trained chef who opened his first restaurant in 1999: the pioneering farm-to-table Laja in the Guadalupe Valley. With the Mexico City additions of MeroToro and Amaya (offering the country's first all-natural wine list), Jair is now one of Mexico's most influential chefs. Back at the ranch in Tecate, the family planted their Home vineyard in 2004, where Ana Montano currently oversees the farming and is responsible for converting their vineyard to biodynamics.