The Domaine Bousquet winery is a family-owned estate in the Gualtallary Valley, a scenic, remote, arid terrain high in the Uco Valley in Argentina’s Mendoza region, close to the border with Chile. Their wines are made from hand-picked, certified organic estate fruit.
The Domaine Bousquet wines are:
Organic: The dry, low-humidity soil eliminates the need for pesticides and other chemicals to prevent disease, making organic farming easier. And, the dreaded phylloxera louse cannot survive in sandy soil!
Elegant: The harder the soil, the heavier and more powerful the wine. The lighter the soil, the more elegant the wine. The ability to produce elegant wines was so important from the start that Domaine Bousquet’s tagline is “Naturally Elegant Wines.”
Aromatic: Thanks to the sandy soil, the grapes thrive in an area with big differences between day/night temperatures, allowing the grapes to retain acidity and terpenes, those volatile compounds that result in wonderful aromas.
Complex: With riverbed and non-riverbed fruit available, the winemaker has more options, a bigger palate from which to blend.
2021 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Chardonnay ($18)
This wine is made from 100% Chardonnay that are grown by the foothills of the Andes at an altitude of 4000 feet. This high altitude yields cool nights that preserves the fresh fruit flavors and acidity in the grapes. This Reserve Chardonnay was fermented in oak for 15 days and aged for 6 months in contact with oak and lees.
It’s deep gold in color with aromas of pear and baked apple. Although it’s fermented and aged in oak, the oak influence is restrained resulting in a medium-bodied Chardonnay with fruit flavors that are not too bright and not overly oaked - just right.
Total Acidity: 5.09 gm/L ; pH = 3.40, Alcohol: 14%, Residual Sugar = 1.61 gm/L; Serve at 10°C/50°F.
Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Samples Provided by Domaine Bousquet Winery and Creative Palate Communications