£11.99 on offer (normally £16.99), Waitrose
Named after the Greek earth goddess Gaia, Domaine Bousquet's stylish Malbec is rich and succulent with polished tannins and seamless structure. Woodsmoke, rosemary and a hint of liquorice add layers to the glossy, dark, plum and elderberry fruit and long mineral-edged finish.
I've written about this pioneering French-founded estate before here, but, briefly, it was established in remote virgin territory in Alta Gualtallary in the late 1990s by Jean Bousquet and is now owned and run by his daughter and son-in-law. The vineyards, organic from the start, lie at 1,200m where the grapes ripen under luminescent sun.
If it sounds like your kind of place, there's somewhere to stay: next to the winery The Gaia Lodge is a new seven-bedroom hotel overlooking the vineyards. It's a companion to the existing Gaia Restaurant, which sources most of its food from its organic kitchen garden.
If you can't make it to Gualtallary, try the wine with lamb (preferably rump or chump chops) or steak with chimichurri sauce, magret de canard or roast duck legs, spiced lentil and pulse dishes, roast root vegetables, or empanadas. 14.5%. Bottle weight: 555g.
Gaia Organic Malbec 2019, Gualtallary, Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina
£11.99 on offer until 22 February, then £16.99, Waitrose
Hello Ben, Thanks for your question and comment. I couldn't agree more that Finca Lalande is remarkable at the price, but Gaia is a real step up in terms of intensity and complexity. In proper cellar conditions, it would evolve interestingly too: I'd say comfortably to 2027. I was going to recommend it at the full price before I saw that it was on promotion, so, at £11.99, it's another excellent value wine.
Hello. How does this compare with the excellent and astonishing value Finca Lalande? I find the FL incredibly tight, take a long time to unfurl and broaden, but remarkable at the price.