$16.99 at Crush Wine & Spirits in Bryant, Arkansas (AR)
91 points – James Suckling
85% Cabernet Sauvignon / 15% Malbec
Organic grapes from the winery’s own vineyards. Aged in French oak for 10 months.
Blackcurrant, red currant, and tobacco aromas. Full body yet elegant, grippy tanins, fruitful and firm acidity. Long finish.
Bousquet family is originally from Carcassonne in southern France where they had four generations of winemaking history.
1990 – Jean Bousquet moved his family to Mendoza to investigate vineyards and wineries and was impressed with the region.
1997 – Jean purchased land and relocated from France to Mendoza. Bought 270 acres (property has now grown to 600 acres). One of the highest altitude vineyards in the world – 4,000 feet above sea level. With cool nights and near constant breeze, the vineyard is able to produce ripe grapes and maintain acidity. Low rainfall can control the watering of the vines with drip irrigation.
In Mendoza in the 1990s, the renowned district of Luján de Cuyo in the heart of Mendoza cost $30,000 per hectar. But a hectar in Gualtallary in the Tupungato Valley of the Uco Valley which was more remote only cost $1,000. Leaders like Jean Bousquet helped improve the status of Uco Valley.
After developing the vineyards, Domaine Bousquet was founded in 2005. The first vintage was the 2003 harvest.
Anne Bousquet, Jean’s daughter, her husband Labid Al Ameri, and her brother Guillaume Bousquet took over the reins from Jean in 2009 just two years before Jean passed away in 2011. Labid and Anne met in college in Minnesota and worked in the United States before joining Jean at the winery. Anne arrived in Minnesota from France and Labid from Iraq by way of Spain.
Lenin Martinez is the winery’s winemaker. He helped grow the business from a production of 80,000 bottles to 3 million bottles per year. He had worked with Paul Hobbs from California, one of the most sought after wine consultants in the world.
The winery sells 400,000 cases per year in 50 countries.
