🍇 Alicante Bouschet

Alicante Bouschet is a red wine grape from France, one of the few teinturier varieties. A teinturier (French for dyer) is a grape with red flesh, not just red skin. So the juice is very dark, and the wine is deeply coloured.

The variety was bred in France in the 19th century by the breeder Henri Bouschet. It came from crossing Petit Bouschet and Grenache. The vine is productive and likes a warm climate. The wine is dark and dense, with aromas of black berries and spice, sometimes a little rough. Winemakers often add it to blends to boost colour and structure.

Today Alicante Bouschet grows in France (Languedoc), in Spain (Almansa) and especially in Portugal's Alentejo, where it is made as a single-variety wine and in blends. It is also part of the Alentejano wine. Petit Bouschet and Grenache are its parents, and Alibernet, a cross with Cabernet Sauvignon, is among its offspring. It is an example of a variety bred for practical use that found a place in great wines.