Q&A: Anne Bousquet, Domaine Bousquet

Hailing from Carcassonne, in the south of France, Domaine Bousquet was founded in 1997 with four generations having since tended to its vineyards, all of which are 100% certified organic. The family’s 110 hectares parcel in the Gualtallary valley in Tupungato, Mendoza, sits at an altitude of 1200 meters (4,000 feet), making it one of the higher altitude vineyards in the region.  “Our long term vision is becoming the most admired organic winery in the world,” says Anne Bousquet, a former economist and owner of Domaine Bousquet who joined her family’s company as CEO in 2008. “That’ss why we believe in developing a sustainable company. Not only from the land perspective but also by the development of our employees and the rural area where we are based on. Now days we produce 4 million litres a year and export 95% of our volume to more than 50 countries. With own import companies in USA, Europe and Brazil, Domaine Bousquet Winery currently ranks in the top 20 Argentine wineries in terms of exports and the leader in organic wine. Here, Bousquet explains the company’s ambitions to be the most admired organic wine brand in the world, why operating in a sustainable manner is so important, and how the status quo of Argentine wine is changing, for the better.

Anne Bousquet

1. Tell me a little about how Domaine Bousquet came to be.

A 1990 vacation in Argentina was all it took. For my father, Jean Bousquet (Boo-SKAY), it was love at first sight. The object of desire: the Gualtallary Valley, a scenic, remote, arid terrain high in the Tupungato district of the Uco Valley in Argentina’s Mendoza region, close to the border with Chile. Here, where the condors fly and not a vine in sight, my father discovered his dream terroir, an ideal location in which to nurture organically grown wines.

With altitudes ranging up to 5,249 feet, Gualtallary occupies the highest extremes of Mendoza’s viticultural limits. Fast-forward to the present and wine cognoscenti recognize it as the source of some of Mendoza’s finest wines. The same could not be said when my father first set eyes on this cool-climate locale. Back then, it was virgin territory: tracts of semi-desert, nothing planted, no water above ground, no electricity and a single dirt track by way of access. Locals dismissed the area as too cold for growing grapes. Jean, on the other hand, reckoned he’d found the perfect blend between his French homeland (high acidity, cool climate) and the New World (sunny, with a potential for relatively fruit-forward wines). Another distinct plus: land prices at the time were approximately 1/25th of those for property in more established districts of Mendoza.

Undeterred by the challenges, my father returned to France and, between visits to Argentina, set about divesting himself, bit by bit, of virtually everything he owned, including the family winery and vineyards in Pennautier, near Carcassonne in Southwest France.

“You know you’re making the biggest mistake of your life, don’t you?” said the real estate broker, as he inked a contract in 1997 to buy just shy of 1,000 acres in this beautiful, but desolate location. “What are you doing?” I said, “Buying a beach? All sand, no sea?” “Anne: they (the locals) just don’t get it,” was my father´s response.

My father was neither the first nor the only wine producer to have his interest piqued by the Gualtallary Valley. But what sets him apart is that he succeeded where several other better financed, well-known names notably did not. What we seized upon, but others failed to grasp, was the singular importance of water. Water is hard to come by in Gualtallary. Technically, the area is desert. But we had done our homework, so our first task in 1998 was to dig a well – all 495 feet of it. Two years in the making, its completion was followed by the planting of vines. Other investors in the region, in the meantime, watched their hopes fade, chiefly due to an inability to extract water or secure water rights.

As and when the need arose, we would sell off portions of our initial 988 acres, retaining just 173 acres by the time we bottled our first vintage in 2005. Bottle by bottle, money was raised to buy a vat or equipment. Today, Domaine Bousquet is housed in a striking modern winery, complete with a beautiful hospitality area and restaurant, and the property accounts for 667 acres planted under vine.
After a 2002 trip to Argentina, my husband and I began to invest in Domaine Bousquet. Like my father, we too had fallen under the spell of Tupungato. A devaluation of the Argentine currency had rendered land prices cheap and Argentine exports very competitive in markets worldwide.

2. What is the most challenging aspect of managing an Argentine wine estate, and what is your favourite part of the job?

Changing financial, regulatory and political contexts are the biggest challenges in managing a wine business in Argentina. You need to know how to adapt fast not to lose your business. Regarding my job, while we both consider ourselves brand ambassadors and focus on sharing our story, Labid (Ameri – co-founder and president) is focused on the big picture and I am the detail person. We have structured our roles so Labid is in charge of sales and marketing and I am in charge of administration, finance and operations. We have now lived in Miami since 2015, from where we run our import company. However, we alternate in spending one week each month at the winery in Tupungato, our favourite part. We focus each trip on the quality of our wines. Passion and communication are the most valuable assets in our partnership.

3. How much of your estate is organic, and what practices do you undertake to reduce your impact on your environment?

100% of our estates are certified organic. Crops are grown in harmony with nature without using any chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. Instead, natural fertilisers, such as Domaine Bousquet’s own compost, are used. Water shortages are averted through investment in water treatment facilities to limit waste. In addition, all vineyards use drip irrigation and the winery is equipped with automatic cut off cleaners, to further reduce water consumption.

Unlike many wineries whose organic wines are simply a small part of a larger portfolio, our fruit has been 100% organic from the get-go, both estate and purchased. We have also played an instrumental role in converting fellow growers to organic principles.

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, the land will give back its best produce. But the company also likes to think more broadly in terms of sustainability. It has a capability programme for all its employees and subsequently decided to invest in achieving Fair for Life certification. In addition, by choosing to only use lightweight glass bottles across its entire wine portfolio, Domaine Bousquet has significantly reduced its carbon footprint.

“We continue investigating new techniques and methods to support our sustainability programme. Currently, we are looking forward to new fair trade projects to keep investing in our community and employee development. In order to take advantage of the great solar exposure at Mendoza province, which has more than 300 days of sunshine a year, we are working on installing solar panels to meet all of our electricity needs at the winery.

4. Why is operating in an organic and sustainable way so important to Bousquet?

Sustainability encompasses more than just organic fruit or a reduction of your carbon footprint. It includes economic sustainability for the surrounding community – call it “360 Sustainability”. When we set up home in Tupungato, the area was a rural backwater (it still is), abandoned by a failing central government. That necessitated building an infrastructure from scratch. We joined an alliance of local wineries in funding construction of a new road providing better access for employees, material deliveries and a small, but growing number of tourists. We also immersed ourselves in training a workforce new to wine-growing and office work. Every detail had to be thought through, from transport for employees who didn’t own a car, to micro-loans for continuing education. The wine industry has transformed the Tupungato economy, but Domaine Bousquet was there first. That´s why we consider it among our proudest achievements.

5. Is demand for organic and biodynamic wines is growing in Argentina? Are export markets requesting it more often?

Organic and biodynamic wines are growing in Argentina and worldwide. It is still only 2% of the global wine consumption, but the trend is strong and constantly growing at a high rate since the last five years. Winemaking is a millenary industry that it seemed would never change. However, consumers are evolving and new occasions are being developed. Information is at one click and consumers are starting to care of what they eat and drink. They also seem to be more conscious about how each product is made and respect the brands that care about natural and sustainable processes. This makes organic and biodynamic wines more attractive to the consumer, and we see it reflected in each market we visit.

6. Which of your products are organic? Which is your favourite and why?

All our portfolio is 100% certified organic, even our four  sparkling wines. Is difficult to choose one favourite but it should be our Reserve Pinot Noir. Here is where my French heritage is unveiled.

7. How has Argentina’s approach to terroir and vineyard management changed in the past five years, in a general sense, and what changes have you made over that time?

Terroir is essential nowadays to guide consumers as to the quality and style of Argentine Malbec. This has been especially true over the last 20 years as new regions like Uco Valley and its sub-regions started to emerge. Malbec has different styles and flavours depending on the area, the areas are characterised by the altitude and type of soil and the difference in temperature between day and night.

Terroir-focused development made Argentine wineries discover new areas, re-discover varieties and focus their study each micro region to get the best expression of each variety and terroir. We chose Gualtallary, one of Uco Valley’s sub-region, 20 years ago to establish our vineyard and winery. Gualtallary’s exceptional terroir was what led Domaine Bousquet to be among the first wineries to settle in that particular area.

Gualtallary’s terroir main characteristics are: high-altitude – 4,000-feet elevation at the Andean foothills, near constant breezes from the Andes that help mitigate heat-stress in this desert-like climate, significant day/night temperature differentials (15C-20C) and sandy soils that define the elegant style of wines. Small variations in these characteristics create unique profiles for each of the micro regions of Argentina and different profiles for Malbec along each of the terroirs, making it essential to use them as marketing tools to help the consumer understand Malbec and its versatility among Argentina’s different terroirs.

8. What has been the result of these changes, and how has the quality and diversity of Argentine wine developed?

Nowadays Argentine wineries are mostly focused on quality rather than quantity. Showing their own identity and reflecting the unique expression from their terroir and the vineyard is our vision.
The result is fruit-forward, aromatically complex wines with natural acidity, rather that overripe, oaky ones. This has been part of the wine revolution in Argentina for the last five years.

9. What would you say are Argentina’s greatest strengths?

I would say, Malbec, climate, the diversity of our terroir, and land extension.

10. What new products and innovations, either in the vineyard or winery, can we expect to see from Bousquet in the future?

We are just releasing a red blend called Virgen – a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend that is not only 100% organic but also non-sulphite added wine. You will find a very fresh and pure expression of fruit in this blend. On the other hand we are adding a Cabernet Sauvignon to our top-tier varietal line, which has also been renamed. Domaine Bousquet’s former “Grande Reserve” label will now be known by the punchier, easy-to-remember “Gran”, with new name and new look and feel. For next year we have some new projects that could be having a small batch Cabernet Franc or even releasing a top tier rosé wine.