Bichi Gordo Guapo 2023

Bichi Gordo Guapo 2023

Bichi Wines
$29.00

Grape: Listan Prieto, Carinena
Vintage: 2023
Type: Red

Sourced from dry-farmed, century-old bush vines in the Tecate region of Baja California, Mexico, this low-intervention red comes from granite and clay soils sitting at high altitude near the Pacific coast. Noel Téllez and his team hand-harvest the co-planted vines, processing the fruit using traditional artisanal methods. A portion of the grapes undergoes whole-cluster carbonic maceration in open-top vats, fermenting spontaneously with native yeasts without temperature control. The wine ages in neutral barrels and stainless steel before being bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with zero added sulfur. This is an earthy, light-footed Mexican red that balances raw rustic texture with bright, high-toned fruit.

A hazy, translucent garnet-ruby color in the glass gives way to lifted aromas of wild strawberry, tart pomegranate, damp earth, blood orange, and subtle barnyard spice. The palate is light-to-medium-bodied, fluid, and energetic, delivering crunchy flavors of sour cherry, cranberry, dried hibiscus, and ground white pepper. Soft, subtle tannins and a driving beam of natural acidity give the mouthfeel a bouncy, highly drinkable structure. It finishes clean and refreshing, leaving lingering notes of crushed stone, citrus zest, and wild desert herbs.

Winery

Bichi was founded in 2014 by Noel Téllez and his family in Tecate, in the mountains of Baja California. The family comes from Sonora, and the winery’s name means “naked” in the Sonoran Yaqui language. Early collaboration with Louis-Antoine Luyt helped establish a project devoted to the area’s old and sometimes overlooked vineyards. Bichi farms its own land and works with small growers around Tecate and the Valle de Guadalupe, emphasizing organic cultivation, dry farming and the region’s varied grape heritage.

Misión, Rosa del Perú, Palomino and other varieties tell a different story of Baja California from the region’s more conventional international blends. Grapes are handled gently, with wild-yeast fermentations in vessels including locally made concrete tinajas, followed by aging in neutral barrels or steel. The wines are generally bottled unfined and unfiltered, with little or no sulfur added depending on the cuvée. The playful luchador labels introduce wines whose real character comes from sandy and granitic soils, mountain vineyards and the people preserving them.