About Domaine Bousquet winery

Domaine Bousquet is one of the leading organic wine producers in Argentina, with French roots and a modern New World vision. The Bousquet family originally came from the city of Carcassonne, in the south of France, as the fourth generation of winemakers. In an effort to produce high-quality wines in the New World, the family focused on looking for the ideal place that would help continue their long-standing tradition and farm organically. Their mission took them to Mendoza in 1990, and specifically to the Gualtallary region of the Uco Valley – which at the time was relatively unknown.

In 1997, they acquired 110 ha of virgin land and started planting their vineyard and also built a state-of-the-art winery overlooking the vines and Andes mountains in the distance. The estate vineyard has an altitude of 1,200 m.a.s.l, benefiting from a constant cool breeze and a wide temperature range with the cooling mountain temperatures. 2002 was the year of Domaine Bousquet’s first vintage, and since then it has grown to become a leader in Argentina for organic wine managing over 1,200 hectares of vines in total.

 

About the Domaine Bousquet vineyards

Domaine Bousquet has five of their own estates in the Uco Valley, accounting for over 110 hectares in vineyards. The most important of which is their estate vineyard right by the winery, which includes 70 hectares of organic vineyards in Gualtallary.

In Gualtallary, most of the soil surface has low concentrations of organic material due to the site’s elevation and climate, which produces favorable stress on its vines. Water delivery to the vines is controlled using drip irrigation from the Andes mountains run-off. This water creates lower pH in the grapes, resulting in higher acidity and more color in the wine. The cooler temperature at the vineyard’s high altitude, approximately 1,200 meters/4,000 feet above sea level, also gives a higher acidity to the wines as well as a deeper colour due to sun exposure.

 

Domaine Bousquet wines

DOMAINE BOUSQUET PREMIUM

Domaine Bousquet’s entry-level series is a varietal series which comprises a blend of estate and purchased fruit from the Uco Valley. The focus is on making wines vinified using little or no oak to let the fruit express itself. Malbec, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon all find their way into this food-friendly range, as well as a Chardonnay – Torrontés blend and rosé.

DOMAINE BOUSQUET RESERVE

A step up from the premium varietal line, these wines are blends of Domaine Bousquet estate-grown grapes from plots with low yields and offer more body, more tannin in the reds, and more flavor. Within the range, there is a Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and a dessert wine made from Malbec.

GRAN BOUSQUET

This is Domaine Bousquet’s super premium line which focuses on the best grapes from their original vineyard planted by the Bousquet family in the late 1990s. The vineyard’s sandy soil contributes to making these elegant wines, and its low fertility aids concentration and richness in the wines. Within this range are Malbec and Chardonnay, but one of the stand outs in our opinion is the Cabernet Sauvignon.

AMERI

Ameri is Bousquet’s line which is named after co-owner Labid al Ameri, who married Anne Bousquet. The icon wine of the range is a Malbec-dominant blend, but you can also find single varietal wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Malbec.  The grapes come from a single vineyard, located at 1257 metres above sea level (4,125 feet), the highest of the estate, and are the last to be harvested.

VIRGEN

Virgen, as the name would suggest, are rather pure wines with a focus on making wines without any added sulphites from their organic grapes. Focused on a pure expression, they are fruit-driven wines and include a Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Chardonnay. (These wines qualify for fully organic USDA certification.)

GAIA

The fresh and vibrant Gaia range (which is also the name of their winery restaurant) is named after the Earth Mother goddess in Greek mythology. Within the range there are blends: a Gaia Red, Gaia White and Gaia Rosé, which change in their composition depending on the vintage – an ode to what Mother Nature provides. But there are also other innovative wines including a Malbec Nouveau (using carbonic maceration) and a range of single varieties, including their only single varietal Cabernet Franc.

CAMALEON

Cameleon is another range within the line up, focused on easy-drinking wines from their main varietals in the vineyards and includes an unoaked Chardonnay and Merlot among other varietals and blends.

DOMAINE BOUSQUET FINCA LALANDE

The family’s Finca Lalande line comes from a finca within their own estate vineyard and includes a juicy Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Torrontés.

 

About the winemaker Rodrigo Serrano

Rodrigo was raised in the city of Guaymallén, in Mendoza, and grew up seeing his parents work at a pharmacy. His curiosity about chemistry somehow led him to choose his career in enology.

Before becoming a winemaker at Domaine Bousquet, he worked at other local and foreign wineries such as Terraza de los Andes, Chandon, Etchart, Dominio del Plata, Peñaflor, Bianchi, MacRostie Winery in Sonoma, and Trinchero in Napa Valley.

Today, he’s the lead winemaker and operations manager at Domaine Bousquet and responsible for the production of 6 million litres of wine per year, including the winery’s portfolio and special cases.

His motto is consistency, quality, and communication. Rodrigo is a very detailed professional as he knows quite well that a small error can have great consequences. Rodrigo has managed to transition from a family winery to a winery with a strong international exposure without losing sight of that family spirit that Domaine Bousquet’s owners, Anne and Labid, and him have built over all these years.

While his main objective is to continue making elegant, organic altitude wines, he also enjoys challenges and innovation, which is why he manages to surprise consumers every year with new varietals, styles of wine, and winemaking techniques.

 

Visiting Domaine Bousquet winery and Gaia Lodge

VISIT

Domaine Bousquet’s winery visit starts at the vineyards with a short explanation of the history of the winery and the characteristics of the area, soil, climate, and irrigation. It then moves on to talking about the organic vineyard and what makes it different from a non-organic vineyard, and a visit to their organic garden. The tour continues at the production area in the winery, with an explanation of the winemaking process and the wine portfolio, and ends with a tasting at their underground tasting room.

VISIT + TASTING OF THREE WINES

After the tasting at the underground tasting room, you can taste three of the following wines: Domaine Bousquet Premium, Domaine Bousquet Reserve, and Gran Bousquet.

VISIT + TASTING OF THE BOUSQUET EXPERIENCE

After the tasting at the underground tasting room, you can taste three of the following wines: Domaine Bousquet Reserve, Gaia, and Gran Bousquet.

VISIT + TASTING OF ICON WINES

After the tasting at the underground tasting room, you can taste three of the winery’s icon wines.

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Tastings are available from Monday through Sunday at 10am, 12pm, and 4pm

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GAIA RESTAURANT

The Gaia Restaurant is led by Adrián Baggio, the executive chef, and its seasonal menu is designed using selected ingredients from the organic garden to showcase local cuisine which pairs with Domaine Bousquet’s wines.

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The restaurant is open from Monday through Sunday from 12:30 – 3pm

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GAIA LODGE

Gaia Lodge is a wine lodge is a real home away from home. A colourful house which boasts seven rooms (five double rooms and two quadruple rooms) over three floors, with the restaurant and living rooms in the middle floor. It’s a peaceful place to stay where each evening the chef creates dishes inspired by the local and seasonal produce of the day, and you can enjoy the bar, living room, restaurant and outdoor terrace. The views from each room are memorable, as you can wake up to the sound of birdsong with a panoramic view of the Andes mountains.

Although the dining room and living room are an explosion of colour and sculptures (reflecting the colourful label of Gaia wines), the rooms are designed to reflect a more quiet and cozy ambiance, with wood furniture and warm, earthy tones. They are all named after a city that’s representative in Domaine Bousquet’s history, Carcassonne, Madrid, Bruxelles, Miami, Vancouver, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, New York, and Stockholm, and painted with the same color as the main flower that represents that city or country.

 

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Click here to book a tasting at the winery or your stay at Gaia Lodge!

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