Chateau Bouscaut Pessac Leognan Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Bouscaut, Pessac Leognan with wine tasting notes, and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, the history of the property, information on the vineyards, and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Bouscaut History, Overview

The vineyards of what we know of as Chateau Bouscaut has existed since the 16th century. So you can see, the estate has a long history. During its formative years, the property was known as Haut Truchon. In 1929, the name was changed to Chateau Bouscaut.

In 1960, a fire destroyed the original chateau of Bouscaut. All that remained from the original structure of Chateau Bouscaut were the cellars.

Victor Place, the dedicated owner rebuilt the entire chateau to the exact original specifications. That was an amazing labor of love, especially when you consider that this took place during difficult economic times. In 1968, Victor Place sold Chateau Bouscaut to a group of investors from New York, who went under the name of Domaine Wohlstetter Sloan.

The new owners, who were not living in Pessac Leognan at the time, made a smart decision and hired the managers of Chateau Haut Brion, led by Jean Bernard Delmas, to help run Chateau Bouscaut. Lucien Lurton, a well-known Bordeaux vigneron who already owned at least ten other Bordeaux estates bought Chateau Bouscat in 1979.

Sophie Lurton, Lucien’s daughter, has been managing the estate since 2002. She is joined by her husband, Laurent Cogombles, who is the director in charge of winemaking.

Under the Lurton family ownership, Chateau Bouscaut has enjoyed continued improvements in the wine and in the winemaking. In 2010, they completed a renovation and modernization of the cellars. They also added to their holdings with the purchase of Chateau Lamothe Bouscaut.

Chateau Bouscaut Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 52-hectare vineyard of Chateau Bouscaut is the largest vineyard in the Cadaujac commune. 45 hectares are planted with 35 hectares planted to red wine grape production and 10 hectares planted for white wine grapes. For the red wine, the vineyard is planted with 50% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot, This represents a change in the vineyard with more Merlot and less Cabernet Sauvignon. It is interesting to note the large amount of Malbec in the vineyards that was planted in 1955.

For the white wine grape varieties, 10 hectares of vines are planted to 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 405% Semillon. This shows a continuing increase in the amount of Sauvignon Blanc. It is important to note they have some of the oldest Semillon vines in the appellation including a small parcel of ungrafted Semillon that is over 100 years of age, planted in 1850!

Even though the vineyard is quite large, it is essentially one large parcel of vines. The terroir is gravel, clay, limestone, and sand soils on sloping hillsides. At their peak, the vineyards reach up to 34 meters.

On average, the vines are old, close to 40 years of age. However, as we mentioned, Chateau Bouscaut has some very old Semillon vines that are over 100 years of age! The vineyard is planted to a vine density of 7,200 vines per hectare. Picking is now 100% manual. The white wine grapes are always picked only by hand.

After receiving HVE3 certification in 2018, Chateau Bouscaut began converting to 100% organic farming. They were certified as organic with the 2023 vintage.

To produce the red wine of Chateau Bouscaut, vinification takes place in a combination of traditional cement vats and stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation takes place in vats and barrels. The wine is aged in an average of 35% new, French oak barrels for 16 months.

To produce the white wine of Chateau Bouscaut, vinification of the Sauvignon Blanc takes place in a combination of new and used, French oak barrels. The Semillon is vinified in 35% new, French oak barrels. There is very little skin contact allowed. There is no malolactic fermentation. The white Bordeaux wine is blended just before bottling.

On average, for Chateau Bouscaut, the production of red wine is close to 16,000 cases per vintage, and white sees about 4,000 cases each year. There is a second wine for both the red and white wine, Les Chenes de Bouscaut. Here, even though much more red wine is produced, most of the time, white wine is usually their better wine.

The best vintages of Chateau Bouscaut are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2005, and 2000. However, it is important to note that there are years when the red wine is better than the white wine and vintages when the white wine is better than the red.

When to Drink Chateau Bouscaut, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Bouscaut can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1-2 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau Bouscaut is usually better with at least 5-7 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Bouscaut offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 9-17 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Bouscaut, with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Bouscaut is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. The red wine of Chateau Bouscaut is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes.

Chateau Bouscaut Rouge is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.

The white wine of Chateau Bouscaut is a perfect wine to serve with shellfish, sashimi, sushi, all types of seafood, chicken, veal, and cheese.

Chateau Bouscaut also produces 2 other wines in the appellation, Chateau Valoux and Chateau Lamothe-Bouscaut from vines they own in the Pessac Leognan.

www.chateau-bouscaut.com