Château du Bousquet

Perched on a promontory overlooking the vineyards, Château du Bousquet proudly displays its superb stone residence flanked by a magnificent dovecote. This remarkable property, acquired by the Castel family in 1960, proudly boasts a glorious past. In fact, since the 17th century, the wines produced here have distinguished themselves by ranking among the top three crus of the Bourgés vineyard. The property extends over seventy hectares, and the vineyard, which today has a density of 6,600 vines, is planted with a wide variety of grape varieties, including Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Malbec. The Château du Bousquet vineyards benefit from superb deep clay-limestone slopes, which provide coolness and irrigation during the hottest periods of the year. These conditions are particularly suited to the style of Château du Bousquet wines, which are based on fresh, crisp fruit. The policy of improving and increasing the density of the vineyards has been accompanied by a major effort to modernise the vinification and ageing cellars.
Today, all the vinification is carried out in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, while the 800 oak barrels are housed in the best possible conditions in a magnificent, completely restored cellar. Antoine de Oliveira, a young man in his thirties, took over Château du Bousquet in 2010 following the departure of Michel Sauvanet. The succession has been carried out with a great deal of respect, as can be seen from the objectives of the new steward: “To continue in the footsteps of my predecessor and perpetuate his work in order to maintain Château du Bousquet as a jewel of the Côtes de Bourg”. Like an artist, Antoine de Oliviera wants to “exploit the great diversity of the terroir as a palette of aromas and flavours” in order to blend a made-to-measure wine that he defines as “lightly woody, complex and fruity, with a certain roundness that is rare in Côtes de Bourg”.