The winery also practices organic farming. \u201cFrom the beginning the three of us wanted to do organic,\u201d said Anne Bousquet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you grow tomatoes in your backyard, there is more flavor than from the grocery store,\u201d said Ameri. \u201cWe do the same thing with the grapes. No commercial fertilizers or pesticides. We think this makes the wine better.\u201d<\/p>\n
All the work the family put in to find the right site and farm it responsibly has paid off in outstanding wines.<\/p>\n
The two malbecs I tasted were mellower and more balanced than many other malbecs I have had. I love malbec, but the Domaine Bousquet version takes the wine to another level.<\/p>\n
Both the reserve and the grand reserve are purple in color, with slight red tinges around the rim. They give off intense aromas of blackberry with some black currants and plum. The grand reserve had more intense aromas.<\/p>\n
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Domaine Bousquet Grand Reserve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The mouthfeel is silky, with a bit more fruit in the reserve and more structure in the grand reserve. Plums, blackberries and spices dominate the palate, leading to an elegant finish. Tannins are soft and well integrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to have a balance between European tradition and Argentine fruit,\u201d said Ameri.<\/p>\n
The differences between the reserve and grand reserve are the grapes and how they are handled. The best grapes go into the grand reserve, though all the grapes in both wines are estate grapes. For the reserve the fermentation starts in tanks and finishes in barrels. For the grand reserve the first maturation is in oak and finishes in oak barrels.<\/p>\n
Domaine Bousquet uses larger barrels than many wineries\u2013400 liters instead of 225 liters. This diffuses the oak in the wine. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to overpower with the oak,\u201d said Ameri. \u201cAfter awhile the fruit disappears and all you taste is oak.\u201d<\/p>\n
The barrels can be used up to five times, further reducing the oak effect.<\/p>\n
The reserve spends 10 months in barrels while the grand reserve gets 12 months. Both spend 4-6 months in bottles before release.<\/p>\n
I would serve the wine slightly chilled.<\/p>\n
Winery: <\/strong>Four generations of the Bousquet family made wine in southern France, in the city of Carcassonne, before Jean Bousquet had the idea that Argentina would be a good place to produce wine.<\/p>\n\n
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He sold his vineyards in France and in the 1990s moved to Argentina with his daughter Anne and her husband Labid Al Ameri, to find a good location. Mendoza, the largest wine region in Argentina, was the obvious choice, but not so much the part of Mendoza they settled on.<\/p>\n
Bousquet bought about 270 acres (since expanded to 600 acres) in the Gualtallary valley in Tupungato, Mendoza in 1997. With cool nights and a near constant breeze, the vineyard is located in a region with the ideal conditions to produce ripe grapes and extraordinary wines.<\/p>\n
The area gets little rain, but snowmelt from the Andes provides clean fresh water for drip irrigation. In fact, the same water that goes on the vines is bottled and sold locally. It is one of Argentina\u2019s most popular bottled waters.<\/p>\n
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Anne Bousquet<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe nature is so imposing,\u201d said Anne Bousquet. \u201cThere is nothing between you and the Andes. It is pure. You don\u2019t want to be the first to spoil this pristine land. You don\u2019t want to pollute that.\u201d<\/p>\n
After selling grapes for a few years Domaine Bousquet produced its first wine in 2003. Jean Bousquet died in 2011 but Abid and Anne have carried on his traditions, joined by Anne\u2019s brother Guillaume.<\/p>\n
The winery sells about 400,000 cases of wine a year in 50 countries and recently increased its presence in the American market by forming its own import company. It increased sales from 10,000 cases to 90,000 cases last year and reduced prices.<\/p>\n
The winery buys some grapes from neighboring vineyards for some of its wine and helps those growers gain organic certification.<\/p>\n
Besides these two malbecs, the winery also produces a grand reserve chardonnay; a malbec blend called Ameri; premium cabernet sauvignon, merlot, ros\u00e9, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc; a white blend and a red blend under the Gaia label and several sparkling wines.<\/p>\n
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Both wines from Domaine Bousquet paired well with grilled chicken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Goes with: <\/strong>There\u2019s no question the best pairing with this wine is beef, but I wanted to see how versatile it could be. So we had it with chicken cooked on the grill.<\/p>\nEach of us had a half chicken that the Modoc Volunteer Fire Department sold as a fund raiser. They did a great job cooking it slowly over low heat. The meat had a great flavor. The inside was juicy, but done, and there was no charring on the outside.<\/p>\n
Both these wines were great with the chicken. They didn\u2019t overpower the food, probably because of the muted oak and integrated tannins. The ripe fruit flavors balanced the smokey chicken. I think I liked the Grand Reserve a little better with the chicken, but either one was a chicken dinner winner.<\/p>\n
Both wines also would go well with red meat on the grill, meats with rich sauces, a wide variety of cheeses, and chocolate desserts.<\/p>\n
bottlereport.com\/domaine-bousquet-proves-benefits-of-cool-climate-for-argentine-malbec<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2013 Domaine Bousquet Malbec Reserve 2014, Mendoza Domaine Bousquet Malbec Grand Reserve 2013, Mendoza Cost: $14-18, 20-22 It is never too late to be a pioneer in the wine industry. Humans have been making wine for thousands of years, so you would think there isn\u2019t much room for innovation. But creative winemakers and growers always…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[135],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Domaine Bousquet Proves Benefits Of Cool Climate For Argentine Malbec - Domaine Bousquet<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n