Barón Balché is one of the most prestigious wine companies in the Guadalupe Valley, Mexico, in the segment of high quality wines. We invite you to know it.
How did Barón Balché start?
It was 1997, the year Hurricane Paulina devastated parts of Guerrero and Oaxaca, and the El Niño phenomenon caused it to snow in Guadalajara for the first time since 1881.
Higher up, away from the previous events, in the Baja California Peninsula, Juan Ríos was meditating about what he was going to do with 32 hectares of vineyards that he had acquired in the Guadalupe Valley. Ríos grew cereals in the Mexicali Valley and bought the vineyard because of his passion for crops.
The vines were decayed and the earth hardened; everything showed the bleak appearance of abandonment. But Ríos was a man with experience in the field and he knew that with effort and dedication, everything would turn green in no time.
The businessman began to work hard, thinking more about producing wine as a hobby than for commercial purposes, and with the arrival of the new millennium, the first bottles of a weak broth came out that was about to become his debut and farewell in winemaking.
The vineyard received several improvements, including new varietals and a drip irrigation system. The quality control process received special attention. The first new strain of Barón Balché had been firmly planted.
How was the winery developed?
Juan Ríos began to think big when he realized that the Mexican market lacked national wines that could compete honorably with those from Spain, France, Italy, Chile and the American California.
In 2000, the oenologist Víctor Torres joined the project, the underground cellar began to be built and the acquisition of the equipment to produce high-standard wines began.
Ríos was thinking about the market segment formed by knowledgeable and demanding consumers. The product had to be optimal for the eyes, nose and mouth.
In 2001, the first large vintage was produced, consisting of 2,500 bottles of the Rincón del Barón and Balché labels, which were placed in restaurants, wine bars and select stores in Baja California and Mexico City.
In 2003, the Barón Balché label appeared, the house's first great emblem. The balché is a legume with which the Mayans prepare a fermented drink since pre-Hispanic times; formerly it was served to high-ranking individuals.
In the winery they were aware of the quality of their product, but they knew that a good wine can be easily ruined during storage, handling and service by the buyer.
This is how the wine house set out to visit its main clients, giving courses for staff related to wine in hotels, restaurants and wineries. A learning that is now appreciated by all those involved in the Mexican world of wine.
Currently, the production of Barón Balché is in the order of 20,000 boxes per year, in 18 labels, of which 14 are red, 3 white and a claret.
At the request of the same clientele, the house opened the Tahal Restaurant, in which users receive advice to pair their food with the most appropriate Balché. Likewise, there is a project to increase production to 50,000 boxes / year.
What are your best wines?
Barón Balché has 3 lines of wines: Rincón del Barón, Barón Balché and Balché Premium. On the Rincón del Barón list, the Mix of Reds label stands out, a product of the union of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Carignan grapes, in proportions 60/20/10/10.
This wine is fresh and persistent in the mouth, with pleasant tannins, it is recommended to accompany dishes between light and intermediate in intensity. The other representatives of this series are the Double Blanc and the Clarette.
In the line that bears the name of the house, the Reserva Especial is distinguished, a broth of an intense ruby color with garnet tones. Leaves fruit and vegetable aromas on the nose, in which fig, plum, fine herbs, walnut, coffee and eucalyptus are present.
In the mouth, the Reserva Especial is elegant, with fine tannins and well balanced, offering flavors of liquorice, pepper and traces of tobacco. It pairs well with lamb, flank steak and Brie, Gorgonzola, goat and Edam cheeses.
The Balché Premium series, the pride of the house, currently has 8 labels, of which 2 are at the pinnacle: the Balché Cero Premium and the Balché Tres Premium.
What are those two wines like?
The Balché Cero Premium is 100% Nebibiolo, a grape that gives it its plum red color, with ruby touches. It is aged for 4 years in fine grain French oak barrels and leaves on the nose intense and expressive aromas of vanilla, spices, black plums, coffee and tobacco.
In the mouth it feels dry, with elegant tannins and intermediate acidity, leaving an aftertaste of truffles and tobacco. It is an excellent companion for suckling pig, kid, game meats and cheeses such as Provolone, Chedar and Azul.
It has an alcohol content of 13.8 ° and a storage potential of 12 years, recommending its consumption in a period of between 7 and 10 years.
The Balché Tres Premium is a garnet red wine with blue traces. It is 100% Merlot and has been aged for 44 months in barrels. It offers aromas of blackberries and sweet pepper to the nose, leaving hints of smoke, violets, truffles and leather.
It is a vigorous, velvety broth with a harmonious finish, leaving an aftertaste of plums and mint. It is excellently associated with lamb, steak, chicken in sauce and fish.
These two Premium Barón Balché labels are priced at $ 2,900 per bottle.
Are all the wines close to 3,000 pesos?
No. In its Premium line, Barón Balché has several labels at $ 1800, such as the Balché 2012 Premium. This is a purplish-red wine with purple tones, which leaves aromas of dark fruits, cocoa and tobacco on the nose, providing black olives at the end.
The Balché 2012 Premium is unctuous and well balanced in alcohol, tannins and acidity, making a good pairing with quail, chops, moles, goat cheeses, cold cuts and not very seasoned foods.
Another excellent product from Bodega Barón Balché is Dulché, which is priced at $ 750. It is a brilliant ruby red wine to exquisitely accompany cheeses, cakes, fruits in syrup and other desserts.
The 2012 Auro and 2013 Spiral are marked at $ 310. The first is a light golden broth with straw rims, made 100% with Chardonnay. It is fresh and intense on the palate, being a pleasant companion to desserts and cheeses such as Camembert and Edam.
Spiral 2013 is another clean white wine with greenish traces. It offers aromas of pineapple and green melon, with notes of olive and peach. Their pairing possibilities include shellfish, oysters, oysters, and goat cheeses.
Other good house red wines, such as Hunab-Ku, ZF, and GC, are priced at a convenient $ 580.
Have Barón Balché wines won any awards?
Between 2003 and 2016, Barón Balché's wines won 27 medals in the Ensenada Tierra del Vino International Contest, a prestigious event that takes place annually in the charming city of Baja California. Of these 27 medals, 23 are gold and 4 silver.
A few Barón Balché labels have been awarded at the Ensenada contest, including the classic Balché, the special reserves, the whites and the dedicated grape wines, such as several Zinfandel, Tempranillo and Grenache - Cabernet.
In the 2006 event, the 2004 Balché Uno Premium obtained the Great Gold medal by ranking first as the best Mexican red wine in the tasting on the 7th.
How is the restaurant?
Barón Balché did not plan to venture into the food segment beyond accompanying tastings, but the winery's clients themselves began to express the convenience of having a place to pair good house wines with haute cuisine. .
That is how in 2014 the Tahal Restaurant opened its doors, a beautiful and cozy house with a rustic atmosphere, with a predominance of wood, brick and wrought iron, which gives a space to modernity in the decoration pictures.
The restaurant is supplied with vegetables, aromatic herbs and other plant products, from the organic garden that coexists with the vineyard.
At El Tahal you can enjoy both a juicy cut of meat and the fresh fish of the day bought in Ensenada. The lamb ham and the cold smoking, maturing and aging processes deserve special mention.
In the Mayan language, "Tahal" means "Cooking" and that is precisely what they do very well in Barón Balché's stoves.
During your visit to the Tahal Restaurant, among other options, you can order fresh oysters, a ceviche or an aged rib eye carpaccio, decorating the table with a green salad from the garden.
As main courses, we suggest the Rib eye aged for 60 days and the Rib of lamb with 30 days of maturation. If you're in the sea, ask for the fish of the day.
Also the "pizza" boys have several alternatives, such as Pizza Tahal; the one with octopus, chorizo, red onion and jalapeño and the three cheeses, in addition to the classic ones.
Don't worry about the wines, the restaurant people will recommend the best white or red selection to make the right pairing with your food.
Can I participate in a tasting?
Of course yes. Barón Balché has 5 tasting packages, so you can choose the one that best suits your tastes and budget. All packages include a tour of the vineyard, a visit to the cellar area, a talk with the house winemaker, Oscar Delgado Rodríguez, and a tasting of the wines included in the chosen plan.
Package A is the cheapest, priced at $ 130 per person. This option includes 4 wines: Double Blanc, Clarette, Mix of Reds and Zinfandel.
In Package B, which costs $ 180 per head, the 4 wines to taste are Spiral, GC, TC and ZF. Package C amounts to $ 300, when contemplating the Mezcla de Redtos, TC, Reserva Especial and Balché wines.
Package D is for a minimum of 8 people and includes 3 wines, Balché Uno, Dos and Siete, at a cost of $ 550. Finally, the E package, the most exclusive, priced at $ 750, allows you to taste the exquisite Balché Cero, in addition to the Balché Seis, Siete and 2012.
Barón Balché serves the tasting public every day, between 8 AM and 8 PM, and the tastings last approximately 25 minutes.
Groups of more than 20 people must book in advance. For your convenience, you can book your tasting by filling out a simple questionnaire on the Barón Balché website (https://baronbalche.com/).
Can I get married at Barón Balché?
If you want to proceed in style and in two stages, you can first make the request for a hand and then get married; the people of Barón Balché will do their best to make these celebrations unforgettable. You can also celebrate birthdays, hold corporate events and any other social or business meeting.
Barón Balché accepts orders for up to 200 people in a covered area and up to 3,000 in an open area. There are four menu options for events: 5-course or course, 4-course, 3-course and informal menu.
The 3 course menu includes: 1T: garden salad with citrus salad / 2T: chicken stuffed with spinach with cheese and vegetables / 3T: rib toast. The 4-course is based on ceviche, grilled octopus, quail and aged rib eye.
The 5-course menu includes: 1T: roasted cauliflower soup / 2T: aged New York tartare / 3T: rib toast / 4T: aged rib eye over onion puree and roasted garden vegetables / 5T: apple strudel.
The informal menu includes two possibilities: a paella or lamb cooked for 5 hours and side dishes.
Ready to meet Barón Balché? The vineyard and the winery are located in Ejido El Porvenir, Valle de Guadalupe. Happy visit!
