Domaine Bousquet launches first sustainability impact report

Already Argentina’s biggest organic winery, Domaine Bousquet is proving it is “evangelical about sustainability” with its new annual report.

Building on close to three decades of sustainable winemaking, Domaine Bousquet has published its first 360° sustainability report. The Domaine Bousquet Impact Report 2023 details a number of current actions and future goals, divided between six topics. These range from water conservation and climate change mitigation to support for local communities and transparency in its business practices.

Subtitled ‘The past, present & future of sustainability for Argentina & beyond’, the report continues a proud record of sustainable development at Domaine Bousquet in Gualtallary, a high-altitude terroir in Mendoza’s Uco Valley. The winery has been certified organic since its first vintage in 2005. Last year, it became the first winery outside the US to be Regenerative Organic Certified as well as one of the world’s first 24 wineries to achieve B Corp certification.

“The foundations were laid for what we call a 360° sustainability approach from the outset,” says Anne Bousquet, CEO and co-owner. Yet the new report marks a significant step forward for the company, with Italian consultancy the Terra Institute helping the Bousquet team to realise an ambitious document. “We wanted to go one step further and drill down into each and every element of the business,” she explains, “recording, measuring, evaluating and analysing where we are and how we can approve at a very granular level. This will give both us and our customers an unrivalled level of transparency.”

Partnership at all levels

In order to create such a thorough report, Domaine Bousquet took a forensic approach that involved many stakeholders. For every department, a team of staff members reported on their existing initiatives and future plans.

“Each part of the business has a ‘Green Team’” explains Bousquet, “and this spans everything from vineyard management to hospitality to human resources.” That meant that vital departments of the business, such as vineyard management or supply chain logistics, were fully resourced to create ambitious plans. It also revealed unexpected opportunities to reduce the winery’s impact. A combination of employing local communities, flexi-working and carpooling, for instance, has reduced staff transportation emissions by 50%.

Among the ambitious targets devised by the teams are becoming plastic-free, achieving carbon-neutral status by 2030 and launching schemes to fund drip irrigation for growers. With an update due for publication each year, there will be concrete means of tracking progress and making interventions.

The report’s impact is designed to ripple beyond Domaine Bousquet and Gualtallary. Making it public is designed to inspire other wineries: “take our report as a model and practical guide to move the sustainability needle,” says Bousquet.

It will also impact other wineries through its spirit of collaboration. One of the headline initiatives from the report is developing a carbon lifecycle calculator for South America. Domaine Bousquet has instigated a buy-in from five Argentine and Chilean wineries to adapt the International Wineries for Climate Action calculator to the continent. This will be made available to wineries across South America, enabling more transparent reporting on sustainability and promoting a common methodology.

A sustainable mindset

After more than two decades working sustainably, Domaine Bousquet’s journey continues to accelerate. What began as an organic project is now a holistic approach to sustainability. While that initial commitment has stayed true, it has been bolstered by years of experience in winemaking. There is also now an urgency driven by scientists’ warnings against inaction. “Our awareness of the increasing fragility of our planet is a real catalyst,” Bousquet says.

Almost two decades on from Domaine Bousquet’s first vintage, the journey is easier for brands to begin. Initiatives such as publicly publishing its sustainability report, the producer hopes, might inspire and act as a blueprint for the next generation.

“Any producer looking to find an audience will find the route in is now much smoother,” says Bousquet. Having won an audience through hard graft and rigorous certifications, it is a generous attitude to ease the way for the next wave of sustainable winemakers. Yet, whether through certifications or directly helping wineries, collaboration is Domaine Bousquet’s approach to building a sustainable industry.

“You could say we are evangelical about sustainability,” Bousquet says, reflecting both the centrality of sustainability in her work and the estate’s willingness to promote sustainable winemaking. “We are committed not only to doing our bit, but to bringing as many of our fellow growers and wineries with us along the way.”

Patrick Schmitt MW tasted wines from Domaine Bousquet blind at the Global Malbec Masters 2024. He presents his tasting notes below.

Bousquet Gaia Organic & Biodynamic Malbec 2022

• Producer: Domaine Bousquet
• Region: Gualtallary, Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Grape variety: 100% Malbec
• ABV: 14.5%
• Approx. retail price: £17
• Medal: Gold

A deeply coloured red featuring plenty of ripe fruit, with intense flavours of black cherry and juicy berries, complemented by flavours of dark chocolate and spicy cracked pepper. Good-value, fleshy, and plenty of dry tannins to make your mouth water.

 

Bousquet Gran Organic Malbec 2022

• Producer: Domaine Bousquet
• Region: Gualtallary, Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Grape variety: 100% Malbec
• ABV: 14.5%
• Approx. retail price: £21
• Medal: Gold

A delicious, dense-yet-refreshing Malbec that’s loaded with sweet, fleshy red and black berry fruit married to notes of spicy pepper, and framed by dry, firm-but-fine tannins. Undoubtedly an ideal match for marbled red meat from the grill.

 

Bousquet Ameri Eva Estate Organic Malbec 2022

• Producer: Domaine Bousquet
• Region: Gualtallary, Mendoza
• Country: Argentina
• Grape variety: 100% Malbec
• ABV: 14.5%
• Approx. retail price: £30
• Medal: Gold

This flagship Bousquet Malbec is a stunner, packed with juicy fruit, chewy tannins and a touch of toasty oak – plus it’s organic, and from one of the greenest wine producers on the planet. At its core are delicious summer-pudding like flavours of cream and sweet red berries, while the finish is dry, mouth-watering, and gently spicy, leaving one craving a second sip (and third, fourth…)

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