Domaine Bousquet’s most ambitious wines, made in relatively small amounts and only with superior vintages from block-selected sites from the premier Eva Estate. Excellent effort from one of the world’s reference points in organic wines. This is Argentine quality hitting on all cylinders without requiring a second mortgage to enjoy. $85
The Ameri label honors Labid Al Ameri, co-owner and president of Domaine Bousquet. Ameri was born in Kuwait to Iraqi parents. The family fled Saddam Hussein. Labid spent his childhood in Madrid, Spain, before coming to the United States. He earned a degree in finance from Saint Cloud University in Minnesota, where he met his eventual wife, Anne Bousquet, daughter of Jean Bousquet, a third-generation winemaker in the Languedoc region of France. Anne was at St. Cloud University on an exchange program from the University of Toulouse, majoring in economics.
Labid says he was not much of a drinker before college, but drank liquor to keep warm during Minnesota winters. He laughs about how Anne stood out as the only person at the Minnesota bar drinking wine. They fell in love. After graduation, they married and moved to Boston. Labid’s MBA from Northeastern University in Massachusetts led to a career in international equity markets. Anne worked as an economist forecasting the European paper packaging market. Neither imagined a future in South America.
Meanwhile, Anne’s father, Jean Bousquet, sold his French winery in 1997 after an earlier visit to Mendoza, Argentina, where he fell in love with the possibilities for high altitude Argentine vineyards. He purchased land in the foothills of the Andes in the Tupungato Valley, one of the higher altitude vineyards in the world at elevation 4,000 feet. The climate is very dry. Domaine Bousquet skillfully irrigates with drip irrigation using meltwater from the nearby Andes Mountains. Gualtallary is one of Argentina’s most prestigious appellations, famous for limestone soils and extreme altitude. “Wild roots” on the label reference vine roots that penetrate deeper into the soil, enhancing terroir expression.
As Jean developed his Argentine winery, he asked his daughter and son-in-law to come help. And so they did in 2010. In 2012, Labid and Anne took full ownership of the vineyard, and Jean retired. The couple then built the operation into Argentina’s largest organic wine exporting operation, exporting more than a million gallons a year to more than 50 countries.
The winery is one of the world’s most awarded fully organic operations. Their website states: “We are dedicated to farming organically while improving our land’s biodiversity. We believe that the healthier the vineyard, the better the fruit and of course the wine. In other words, by nourishing the land and treating it with respect, we know that the land will give us back its finest fruits.”
Domaine Bousquet Ameri Wild Roots Block #3 Organic Malbec, Eva Estate, Gualtallary, Mendoza 2022: Deep ruby-purple color; plum, blackberry, black cherry, raspberry, violets, oak, clove, white pepper on the nose and palate.
Dry; firm, sweet, well-integrated tannins; balancing acidity (3.69 pH, 5.25 g/L TA). Full body, velvety mouthfeel. The pure malbec grapes are hand-harvested. Fermented with natural yeast in small 106-gallon oak barrels for 15-20 days with total maceration of 30 days in contact with the skins. Full malolactic conversion. Aged 12 months in 100% new oak, followed by one year of bottle aging. 14.5% ABV
Pairing—Grilled beef ribs, grilled and roasted beef in general; grilled ribeye with chimichurri and roasted portobello mushrooms; pepper-crusted filet mignon; short ribs; smoked beef brisket. Lamb—slow–cooked lamb ragout; lamb with rosemary, sage, thyme. Pork, both lean and fatty cuts; roasted pork shoulder; pork belly, bacon; barbecue pork. Rich tomato dishes, lasagna, pasta al forno. Mushroom-based dishes: grilled portobello, wild mushroom risotto, stuffed mushrooms. Cheese—Aged cheddar, aged manchego, gruyère; asiago; lightly smoked gouda, provolone; comté, ossau-iraty.
