Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé

Happy Earth Day Every Day! This year, we’re saying cheers to our planet with a picnic in the park with Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé: vegan, gluten-free, sustainable, made with respect for human and environmental rights as certified by Fair for Life, and certified organic by Ecocert. 

All those certifications take time and money, but they are worth it says Domaine Bousquet co-owner, Anne Bousquet: “Certification ensures that every bottle is 100% organic and responsibly made. Once certified, there’s no wiggle room for reverting to pesticides in the event of rot or mildew during a problematic vintage.” Domaine Bousquet committed to organic farming from the beginning and now is in the process of taking it one step further to biodynamic certification which testifies to their commitment to regenerative, not extractive, farming. 

We all know that growing plants with pesticides leaves pesticides on the plants …and the planet and the people. Obviously, certified organic grapes are better for people and planet, but they are also better for PALATES: UCLA research from last year shows that in blind tastings, certified wines score better.

As you may have noticed, we have been featuring Domaine Bousquet lately because it’s Earth Month and their wines are widely available, affordably priced, and certified ORGANIC with that biodynamic certification in the process.

While we remain focused as often as possible on showcasing smaller producers that are sustainable, friends and fans often ask about wines that are easier to find and easy on the pocket book yet are still solidly sustainable.

Domaine Bousquet is all that and more. While large, it is the kind of family owned and run winery we want to support as well because I get it: many of the wines we write about are harder to access when you’re on the run to the store for something for dinner after work. 

Not in the mood for sparkling Rosé? We wrote about the Brut here, and being from Argentina, no surprise that MALBEC is big at Domaine Bousquet; we’ve written about three of their Malbec in the previous few weeks which you can read about by clicking the links below:

• Anne Bousquet’s Premium Malbec
• Bousquet’s Kosher Malbec  “Alavida” 
• Bousquet’s Sulfite Free Malbec “Virgen” 

Another winery that we write about regularly that we’d recommend for Earth Day that is also large, certified organic, easy to find, and affordable is Bonterra:

• read about Bonterra’s Sauvignon Blanc here
• read about Bonterra’s Merlot here 
• read about Bonterra’s Chardonnay here  
• read about Bonterra’s biodynamic blends here

Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé

Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza

ABV 12%
SRP $13
Varietals: 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay
Importer/Distributor: Origins Organic Miami, Fl.
sample for my review 

This multi-vintage Chardonnay-Pinot Noir blend comes from cool-climate fruit grown at 4,000 feet in the top-ranked Gualtallary subzone of Mendoza on gravel and sandy soils. The altitude means an intense diurnal shift bringing ripeness and freshness to the fruit which is fermented first with selected yeast then for the bubbles, a second fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks similarly to Prosecco (which is made in tank from the Glera grape in Italy).

Plus for a picnic no need for a corkscrew to pop the cork! 

Color: Pretty pink, light pink rose

Aroma: Hot springs funk, rich, musky, savory, wet earth, damp forest floor, burnt toast, wild raspberry, strawberry. 

Palate: Strawberry, raspberry, tart acidic finish, light clean crisp, and refreshing. Dry, with great purity of tart fruit, easy to enjoy. Not very complex, yet has a long lingering finish of pippin apples. 

Picnic Pairings: The wine shines with the roasted rosemary marcona almonds. Great with salty snacks: so perfect with the salami. Fantastic with goat cheese covered with orange infused olive oil. This was by far the pairing that we talked about the most. Pair with seafood like take out sushi or seared ahi tuna salad or our new favorite take on deviled eggs– smoked salmon! Or go with Trader Joe’s Wine Country Chicken salad with cranberries on a pita or a cracker with micro greens.   

Domaine Bousquet Charmat Brut Rosé

So go out this month and celebrate our Earth with wine made from certified organic grapes! Cheers!