History, Organic Wineries & Partners
Château Bousquette & Languedoc Wine
Located 10 miles North of Béziers (A town made famous during the Cathar crusades), it lies in the center of the Languedoc region, home to famous Languedoc wine, only 20 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. In our family since 1791, it is currently under the care of Eric and Isabelle Perret, who are tending to the property, while we concentrate our efforts toward the US distribution.
Before the French Revolution (1789), the property of La Bousquette belonged to a nearby monastery, Fontcaude, a relay on the Compostella Path.
On May 5, 1791, our great, great, great…. grandfather, Monsieur Moustelon, bought the land at an auction. “Bousquette” (pronounced boo-sket) in French means thicket or grove. The word aptly describes the place: a simple family estate nestled in pine trees, lavender and thyme, overlooking miles of vineyards stretching all the way to the foot of the volcanic mountains known as the Cévennes.
La Bousquette, circa 1900
Grape varieties include Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. Our organic vineyards are certified by ECOCERT, one of the French certification associations with standards spelling out precisely what materials, quantities, and procedures are permitted in growing grapes and making wine (and foods) organically.
Young pickers with big bunches in the twenties
Languedoc-Rousillon
From the right bank of the Rhône River to the foothills of the Pyrénées, Languedoc-Rousillon is the largest wine growing region in the world and the third largest AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée: the top grade of French quality wine) zone in France after Bordeaux and Côtes du Rhône.
It has been called “an amphitheater open to the Mediterranean and almost entirely covered with vines.” Languedoc-Rousillon has always been granted a wealth of exceptional “terroirs” (a wine growing environment covering soil, site, and local climate).
The vineyard of Château Bousquette, a 50 acre family estate, drapes over the craggy hillsides of St. Chinian in the middle of the Languedoc region and almost entirely covered with vines.
