The Bouscaut vineyards exist since the 16th century on the commune of Cadaujac, within the Graves appellation. Called Haut Truchon, it was renamed Château Bouscaut in 1929 after the locally given name. The various owners throughout the twentieth century were very dedicated to improving and transforming both the vineyard and the château. The neighbouring property, Château Valoux, became part of Bouscaut in 1929. In the thirties, the domain was cited as being a model estate by the Chamber of Agriculture and a race horse called Château Bouscaut won first prize in the coveted Maisons Lafitte race. In the same period, a tower was added to the main residential building and cellars were erected next to it.
The winner of many medals and the subject of many illustrious French singers such as Louis Jouvet, Maurice Chevalier or Gilbert Bécaud, the wines of Château Bouscaut were recognised and consecrated in 1953, when it was awarded the envied status of Graves Cru Classé, for both its white and red wines.
In early 1960, the château was completely destroyed by a fire and only the cellars were left in tact. The owner, Victor Place, oversaw its reconstruction, to the exact original plans, before selling it to a group of investors from New York. The new owners brought in the directors of Haut-Brion to manage it, and they in turn undertook many renovations to both château and vineyards.
Bouscaut was then acquired in 1979 by Lucien Lurton, a well known Bordeaux winemaker who already owned at least ten other prestigious châteaux in appellations such as Margaux (Brane-Cantenac) and Barsac (Climens). This man with the soul of a winemaker recognised the potential and exceptional terroir of Château Bouscaut.
Today the fourth generation, in the form of Sophie Lurton, Lucien’s daughter, is in charge. She inherited the estate in 1992, and Laurent Cogombles, her husband, an ENITA graduate, has been very involved with Bouscaut since 1998. Apart from this activity, Laurent is also very actively involved in the wine trade bodies, like the ‘interprofession’ and is the president of the appellation Pessac-Léognan.
For 37 years now, the family has made numerous improvements to the cellars (with a circular tank room in 1990 and a concrete tank room in 2002), the barrel maturation room (completely new), replanting the vineyards, buying the neighbouring Lamothe-Bouscaut property in 1990 and renovating the residential buildings. The domain continues its journey, led with enthusiasm and innovation by its owners.
The Bouscaut terroir is mainly made up of clayey-gravelly soils, on a calcareous base.
That of Lamothe is more gravelly, and that of Valoux is very similar to Bouscaut’s soils.
The clayey-gravelly soil being the major component of Château Bouscaut’s terroir, gives the white wines a beautiful silky texture as well as a very expressive aromatic nature to both the Sauvignon Blanc and the Sémillon. This terroir also provides the white wines with outstanding aging potential, with the older wines evolving towards floral, dried fruit aromas with a smoky character… These same soils also produce excellent red wines, being particularly well adapted to Merlot. The resulting wines are deep in colour and particularly rich and powerful with good tannins. Bearing in mind the low yields that we obtain, especially on the old vines, our wines are silky with a beautiful, very elegant tannic structure. The current replanting programme aims to complete this basis of Merlot with high quality Cabernet Sauvignon to be planted on the more gravelly soils.
Château Bouscaut is unique in the Pessac-Léognan appellation in that it produces red wines with a dominant of Merlot (a little more than fifty percent), the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, or Cot (with only 5%). Merlot gives the wines of Bouscaut their smoothness, in conjunction with their power derived from the terroir. The Cabernet Sauvignon brings structure and the Malbec a hint of exoticism with it exotic peppery aromas to the wine. As for the vines for the white wines, we have equal amounts of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc. At Bouscaut, we are particularly fond of Sémillon, as it is a wonderful varietal that gives rise to very complex wines with great aging potential. In fact, we have magnificent vines which are over 100 years old, which provide us with the heart of the white Bouscaut every year. The Sauvignon Blanc, more crisp and expressive when young, is absolutely essential to bring balance and pleasant accessibility while still young.
At Bouscaut we pride ourselves in producing wines that express their terroir in the purest tradition of the Classified Growths in our beautiful region. The Bouscaut reds have a strong Merlot character which makes them unusual for the region. Cabernet Sauvignon does however make up 40% of the blend, endowing it with a lot of sappiness. As for the Cot or Malbec varietal, it adds to our wine’s originality with its hint of easily distinguishable spiciness. Over the last few years our wines have become more accessible and pleasant when still young, than previously. They are of course also wines with great aging potential that remain attractive and exciting well beyond fifteen years, should you have the patience to wait for them.
Our reds make a harmonious match for rare roast beef, herbed roast lamb accompanied with vegetables or creamy oven-baked potatoes… They can also hold their own with various types of game.
The whites are gorgeous and very elegant. Made of a blend of 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Sémillon, with small variations depending on the vintage, they show perfect balance. These are wines with excellent aging potential, wines to savour with refined cuisine. The Sémillon evolves superbly and is capable of infinite refinement, whilst providing beautiful opulence. The Sauvignon, on the other hand, provides the wines with a defined, lively and sappy character, with precise, upfront attractive aromas, right from the start of the wine’s life. Our vinification and aging techniques also contribute to the quality of its flavour profile and aging potential.
We always take great pleasure in savouring our young white Bouscaut as an aperitif with goats’ milk cheese or shrimp and prawn snacks. It is stunning with oysters.
Once it has a little more bottle age, we happily serve it with queen scallops and cep mushrooms, smoked eel terrine, lobster bisque, seafood and fish in sauces, poultry and it goes equally well with many cheeses
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