There is a new rosé by Domaine Bousquet launching this August in the UK. This organic, vegan wine is produced following sustainable practices and is a blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon grown in a high-altitude vineyard in Argentina.

Havng an opportunity to be one of the first to sample it, I took my bottle of Domaine Bousquet Rosé  to a picnic in Victoria Park. As we settled on a checkered picnic blanket overlooking the canal, I opened the bottle.

On the nose it had fresh red fruit aromas, with a slight strawberry tone and a prominent mineral mouthfeel with bright acidity of Cabernet Sauvignon.

There were also melon notes, making it perfect for our three melon and strawberry salad starter, followed by some tuna sashimi. The wine palate is complex but not over powering.

With a good amount of Malbec tannins, enough to pair well with our cured meats platter and Manchego cheese. It is best enjoyed chilled or even with a cube of ice on a hot day.

My friends and I enjoyed the rosé. It paired well with a number of dishes but equally can be enjoyed on its own due to fresh fruit complexion.

Domaine Bousquet tells us the grapes for the wine are sourced from the Uco Valley, where significant diurnal temperature swings, resulting in an exuberant ripeness and fresh fruit flavours.

The wine is unoaked to allow the fruit to shine through. Domaine Bousquet’s 2022 Rosé comes from a relatively new vineyard. The brand was founded in 1997, by Languedoc-Roussillon winemaker.

Jean Bousquet, was on holiday in Argentina seven years earlier, when he discovered what was then the virgin territory of Gualtallary, and what he considered to be the perfect terroir for growing organic grapes.

Over the ensuing years he sold his Pennautier-based winery and vineyards – Domaine Lalande – and invested in just under 1,000 acres of what was technically desert. He made his first wines in 2005.

Domaine Bousquet is now owned and run by Jean’s daughter, Anne Bousquet and her husband, Labid Al Ameri, formerly an economist and trader, respectively.

The family continue to support sustainability, both environmental and economic. The vineyard enhances biodiversity by supplying water stations around the vineyard and attracts local fauna, such as foxes, rabbits and other endangered species.

Instead of using environment-damaging netting and pesticides, there are ducks living at the winery ponds to balance the vegetative growth and peregrine falcons flying above to scare off grape-eating birds,

The Bousquet family is also a pioneer in using a biofilter system, which is a method of recirculating water to conserve it. The vineyard has just become the first winery outside of the US to earn Regenerative Organic Certified status.

While in the UK Domaine Bousquet is a founder member of the UK-based Sustainable Wine Roundtable.

Both certifications stand for soil health, animal welfare and fairness for farmers & workers ensuring restoration of the ecosystem, health of the land and the wealth of those who live on it.

In summary a great wine, probably one of my favourite roses. It being organic and sustainably produced always gets extra points from me – the organic enthusiast. However, the wine is actually very pleasant regardless of the iconic green leaf flag.

I will definitely choose it again even if it was not organic although, something tells me its vibrancy of flavour is owed to the organic soil and natural growing methods.

I also loved its mesmerizing pink colour, slightly sparkling in the sun rays.

Domaine Bousquet Premium Organic Rosé 2022: £11.99 will be available to purchase via Vintage Roots & Gaucho Grill restaurants.