What on earth is that cluster of giant boulders, a behemoth encampment high in the hills?
It is Clos de Tres Cantos as seen from the highway through the Guadalupe Valley. The sight is enough to stop traffic, if there were much of that on this road.
Get closer, and you'll find one of the most architecturally astonishing wineries in the valley, a stunning composition of rocks and cement.
Clos de Tres Cantos opened in September, 2014. It was designed by architects Alejandro d'Acosta and Claudia Turrent, whose innovative work can be seen in other valley wineries. D'Acosta is the brother of Baja wine pioneer Hugo d'Acosta.
In the courtyard (at top) you could well be in a Mayan temple.
These concrete chairs look as if they were set out for some preternatural cocktail party or, more appropriately, wine tasting.
The pyramid-shaped structures, made from local rock, harmonize with the hills of the valley. Interesting details include this wine bottle niche in a wall.
More wine bottles form an interior panel that glows in the light.
Not everything is rock and concrete. Here is the tasting room, where visitors gather around a wooden communal table. Owners María Benítez and Joaquín Moya are second and third from the left.
Grapes are purchased because the winery is so new. The wines have philosophical names such as Tu Mismo (yourself), which is a blend of four red grapes; Duda (doubt), a blend of Carignan and Mourvedre, and Nada (nothing), a Tempranillo-Petite Sirah blend.
Nada's label (above) matches its name. Why call it that? Because "nothing can be anything" is the answer.
You couldn't have ordinary food in such a winery. And there was nothing ordinary about the appetizers prepared for my group by chefs Javier Suárez (above) and Francisco de Landero.
Seared tuna on rosemary stems served as dippers for a melted mixture of four cheeses in a bread bowl. The cheeses came from the Ramonetti cheese cellar in Real del Castillo in the Ojos Negros valley. A fig and tomato marmalade on the side lightened the rich taste of the cheeses.
Centolla (king crab) mixed with Dijon mustard and dill was spooned onto jicama slices (above).
And here is shrimp on crisp pork rinds (chicharrón) with green apple and peppers.
Clos de Tres Cantos will open a restaurant in August. Then, you'll be able to sit outside and enjoy a view like this while you eat and try the wines.
It you order Duda (above with Joaquín Moya), read the back label. It tells you to taste it and then "doubt everything and find your own light." That saying, from the Buddha, may sound wise, except that there's nothing to doubt about Clos de Tres Cantos becoming a major stop on the Baja wine route.
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