Bichi 'No Sapiens' Field Blend

666 Cases Made

No Sapiens comes from a single, dry-farmed vineyard comprised of a mysterious grape variety that remains unidentified. The farmer says it could be Dolcetto, winemaker Louis-AntoineLuyt thinks maybe Cariñena due to it's sharp acidity, but no one is quite sure and perhaps it doesn't really matter as this wine shows its place beautifully. Medium bodied, with crunchy dark fruit, a little spice, ample vibrancy and structure. A wine that will get better with time in the bottle and in the glass. 

Mexico has a centuries-long history of winemaking that has mostly gone under the radar. Spanish conquistadores planted vines in the early 1500’s, before both Chile and Argentina, and Baja California represents about 90% of the vines in the entire country due to the ideal climate and geography.

Brothers Noel & Jair Tellez, with the help of Chilean (by way of Burgundy) winemaker Louis-Antoine Luyt, are producing amazingly fresh and energetic wines from very old, recently recovered vineyards of Misión (aka Listán Prieto), Rosa del Peru (aka Moscatel Negro), Tempranillo and Carinena, among other varieties.

Bichi means "naked" in some parts of northern Mexico, and for Téllez and Luyt, it thus seemed like an appropriate name to give their new natural wine project. Based at the Téllez family ranch in Tecate, just over the border from California, Bichi farms 10 hectares of their own Tecate vineyards biodynamically and collaborates with a growing family of organic farmers working vineyard land in Tecate and around Valle de Guadalupe.