When Gordon Gekko uttered the infamous phrase, ‘Greed is good,’ little Labid Al Ameri’s ears pricked up. This was to be the start of an incredible journey that would eventually see him turn to drink.
For teenage Labid, Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street was a revelation; he decided he had to get to the States. All he needed to do was convince his father to send him there to study from Spain, where the family had settled, but his dad refused.
As fortune would have it, Labid met an Iraqi professor from the University of Minnesota in Madrid who convinced his dad to let him go after all. So it came to pass that a clueless 18-year-old teetotal Iraqi who'd never seen snow made it to Minnesota to study.
For the first three months, it didn’t stop snowing. That was when Labid learned to drink. Before long, he’d morphed into a boozy lothario with a penchant for blondes. Then, he met his future wife, Anne Bousquet. Dark-haired, brilliant, and French, she was in Minnesota on an exchange programme from Toulouse, majoring in Economics. Labid was completely smitten. On graduation, the two got hitched and moved to upmarket Boston, where Labid worked in international trading and Anne as an economist.
Natural born entrepreneur: Labid Al Ameri and Lisse Garnett, Brighton, 2023
Labid is a natural-born entrepreneur. Anne’s Dad is a bit of a radical, too. In 1997, when France held 80% of the world's wine market share, Pa Bousquet upped and sold his 4th generation French winery in Carcassonne to move lock, stock, and barrel to Gualtallary in Argentina. It was an incredible; some might say crazy, leap of faith. He christened his new winery, Domaine Bousquet, in honour of his French roots. Planted on virgin earth at 4000 metres of altitude, this pristine land has never seen pesticides. There was no water, no electricity and a dirt track for access. Today it’s considered some of the finest wine real estate in the world.
In 2001, Labid and Anne visited Argentina for the first time together. This was a year in which Argentina had five presidents and a 100-billion-dollar default, the biggest in history. Undeterred, Labid fell in love again, this time with Argentina. Though challenging, he saw that fiscal crisis brought opportunity, and he and Anne began to invest in land.
In the early 20th century, Argentina was one of the top ten wealthiest countries in the world. Today, hyperinflation, successive debt defaults and a profoundly polarised voting public have consigned over half the population to poverty. Land prices have tanked and boomed over the years. Labid and Anne’s land is now worth five times what they paid.
The site of the Bousquet estate makes organic viticulture a no-brainer
Argentina is also the perfect place for organic viticulture. The desert climate deters vine disease, making organic viticulture far more accessible than it is in cooler, wetter climbs like ours. Clean, fresh air, high altitude, and Andean meltwater provide the perfect combo for healthy vines, freshness, acidity, and ripeness. Weirdly, you can see this manifest in your hair, too; that same dryness that tends to the vines elevates thin, limp hair. Every time I visit Argentina, I am amazed by the sudden luxurious thickness of my unremarkable barnet.
In 2004, Anne’s father asked Anne and Labid to flog his inaugural vintage at the Miami Wine Fair. Though they knew nothing about selling wine, they had spent several years immersed in Boston's highly educated ex-Harvard diaspora, where they’d witnessed the craze take off for organic and farm-to-table. They jumped at the opportunity to help.
The wine was a massive success. It sold for two dollars a bottle, one dollar being profit. Labid smelt a golden opportunity yet again. "How much of this can you make?" he asked his father-in-law. One million bottles came the reply. Labid resolved to set up exports; he quit his job and moved to Brussels, initially focusing on Scandinavia. Anne continued to work as a high-powered economist. Within three years, Labid was selling a million bottles a year.
Labid and Anne moved from Brussels to tiny Tupungato in Argentina in 2009. Their daughter was less than a year old, and Anne could not speak Spanish. They built a community from the ground up, nurturing local employees and instilling such loyalty as to provoke a moved tear from this wizened journalist. They have transformed lives by promoting from within from the bottom up. Start on the bottling line, and you might find yourself heading sales one day.
Sustainability for these highly intelligent hotshots is also about building economic success in the locale. They are tirelessly genuine, open, and warm. Their extreme lack of pretension and practicality is evident in the magnificently priced delicious wines they produce, too. They now supply 4 million litres a year to 50 different countries. Anne’s father retired a happy man.
I first met Labid and Anne on a buying trip in 2019. I visited the winery with Sarah Jane Evans MW at the end of 2022 and met again with Labid in Brighton at the end of 2023; this piece has been a long time coming. I thought it was about time I paid my respects. These are the wines I turn to when I need organic credentials and exceptional flavour at the right price.
Los Vinos…
Domaine Bousquet Reserve Organic Chardonnay 2022
14% 100% Chardonnay | Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, £14.00, Vintage Roots
Half of this sees oak. Lusciously fresh and rich with peaches, cream and nectarine, a fine, firm, silken texture, with a touch of toasted coconut. Unctuous, moreish, irresistible.
Gaia Organic Cabernet Franc 2021
14.5% 100% Cabernet Franc | Gualtallary Vineyards, Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza
£15.99, Vintage Roots. This has seen between 8 and 10 months in oak. Elegant, structured, refined and fresh with raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, cooling mint, tobacco and spice. There is a nice, smooth, savoury note too and the tannins are mighty moreish.
AMERI Organic Single Vineyard Malbec 2019
14.5% 100% Malbec | Gualtallary Vineyards, Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, £28, Vintage Roots. This sees 16 months in French oak. Vibrant, fresh, peppery with zippy red and black high-altitude fruit, chocolate nibs, moist golden tobacco, and rich, warm spices. The tannins are deliciously ripe, the finish long.
Virgen Vineyards Organic Malbec No Added Sulfites 2021
14% 100% Malbec | Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, £12.99, Vintage Roots. 100% estate-grown at altitude. Aromatic violets, sapid crunchy blueberries, blackberries, black cherries and plums. Spice, iodine, earth and zip. Amazing value.
Domaine Bousquet Premium Organic Malbec 2022 14%100% Malbec | Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, £11.25, Vintage Roots; £11.50, Abel & Cole. Deep, dark, intense and delicious. Blackberry, sweet violet, plum and spiced blackcurrant. Sapid, fresh, aromatic.
Finca Lalande Premium Organic Malbec 2022
14.5% 100% Malbec | Gualtallary Vineyards, Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, £9.99, Waitrose. Peppery, floral (violets), silky and balanced with a savoury character that balances the zippy freshness lent by fruits of the forest and blueberry spice.
Gaia Organic Malbec 2021
14.6% 100% Malbec | Gualtallary Vineyards, Tupungato, Uco Valley, Mendoza, £16.99, Waitrose. Lusciously concentrated and fresh with violets, cherry, blackcurrant and ripe tannins. Long, pretty and polished.
