Domaine Bousquet Malbec Dulce 2020, Fortified Malbec, Mendoza, Organic, 500ml

Malbec Dulce is Domaine Bousquet’s sweet, fortified take on Argentina’s favourite grape. It is made from 100% organic Malbec grown in Alto Gualtallary, high in Mendoza’s Uco Valley at around 1,200 metres, where intense sunshine and cool nights give deeply coloured, concentrated fruit. The wine is fortified to retain natural sweetness from the grapes and then aged in second-use French oak barrels for around 12 months, in a style that will feel familiar to anyone who enjoys ruby port. It comes in a 500ml bottle.

Domaine Bousquet Malbec Dulce is dark and inviting, with aromas of ripe cherries and blackcurrant, chocolate and coffee. The palate is rich and sweet, with flavours of chocolate, plum and berry jam, soft tannins and a long, persistent finish.

Serve it with dark chocolate desserts, chocolate fondant, brownies or a cheeseboard with blue cheese, or enjoy a small glass on its own at the end of a meal. Serve at around 14–16°C. It drinks well on release and, being fortified, will keep for several days once opened if the bottle is resealed and kept cool.

Domaine Bousquet is a family winery with French roots and an Argentine home. Jean Bousquet, from a winemaking family near Carcassonne in southern France, fell for Mendoza on a visit in 1990 and in 1997 bought wild, unplanted land in Gualtallary, high in the Uco Valley at around 1,200 metres. Organic farming has been used since the first vines went in. His daughter Anne Bousquet and her husband Labid Al Ameri now run the estate. The entire production is certified organic, the vineyards and winery are farmed biodynamically, and Domaine Bousquet holds Regenerative Organic Certification and B Corp status. Sunshine, cool mountain nights and stony, free-draining soils give the wines ripe fruit with natural freshness.