The import, sales and marketing company Quintessential will bring Maison Bouey — Quintessential’s first Bordeaux winery — to the U.S.
Maison Bouey owns 70 hectares of vineyards in the Medoc, planted mostly to merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and petite verdot, with offices and production facilities in the city of Bordeaux.
Founded by Jean Bouey in 1821, the family winery supplied grapes to some of the most famous producers in the region, the company says. In 1958, the Bouey family started making their own wines and selling them directly to customers.
With the arrival of brothers Patrick and Jacques Bouey in the mid-1990s, Maison Bouey expanded throughout Europe, the Far East, Africa and Canada. In 2020, they welcomed Patrick’s son, Yann, who is continuing the Bouey family legacy.
Says Dennis Kreps, who owns Quintessential with his father, Stephen, “As soon as we tasted Maison Bouey wines, my dad and I knew that they would be a perfect fit with our other family-owned producers, who make wines that represent the most authentic expressions of their terroirs.”
As the family celebrates their 200th Anniversary in the French wine industry, they are bringing to the U.S. the Famille Bouey line.
“Vineyard practices and winemaking techniques used to make the classified growths have been applied to wines from across the Bordeaux region under the Famille Bouey Les Parcelles umbrella,” Jacques says.
The initial Famille Bouey wines coming to the US are in the Cuvee line (#11, #20 and #58), Les Parcelles Nᵒ8, Maison Blanche (AOP Bordeaux), Colors 721 (inspired by Pantone Rose) and Chateau La France Delhomme.
They will have suggested retail prices ranging from $13 to $40 per 750-ml. bottle.
The numbers on the label of the Cuvee wines have significance for the Bouey family. Number 11 pays homage to the first eleven hectares that started the Bouey’s “adventure in wine,” while Number 20 is for 2020, the year that Yann joined the family business.
Number 58 recalls 1958, when Patrick and Jacques’ grandfather started the winery with their father and his two brothers.
The Colors label is a collaboration with The Pantone Company (the first between Pantone and the wine industry). Colors Inspired by Pantone has number 721 on its label; that is the color that inspired the wine’s hue. The promotional campaign urges rosé aficionados to “choose a wine by its color.”
Oh La Vache! Rouge is an example of the family’s commitment to sustainability, the company says. The wine carries the HVE 3 environmental certificate, which is the highest level available to farming and agriculture in France. The Bouey family has eliminated artificial chemicals to treat, feed or tend their vines in the Medoc, which has allowed biodiversity to return in the creation of more 3 fertile soils, native vegetation and wild flowers that attract birds and local animals.
Since 2007, Maison Bouey has worked with consulting winemaker Stephane Derenoncourt, who has brought technical and eco-innovations to the winery and vineyards, the company says. He uses a geo-sensory approach to winemaking, where the nature of the soil and subsoil dictates the management of the vines and the profile of the wines.
“Each vineyard, and sometimes, each plot, has its own proportion of limestone, sand, clay, silt and gravel,” says Derenoncourt. “The richness and variety of these soils and subsoils influence the earth’s warming in spring, the water reserves, the capacity to nourish the plant, the level of acidity, and the microclimate specific to each plot. The terroir will determine the ripening capacity of the berries, and also the diversity of aromas, and the quantity and quality of tannins.”
Quintessential is the exclusive importer of Famille Bouey in the U.S. The wines will roll out across the country, starting in New York, New Jersey and Florida in November, and continue to the rest of the country during the first quarter of 2022.
