Author: Chris Khatsch

There must be a little art in everything I create, even if my creation is as cold as a machine and follows empirical data.
Review of Lebanese Wines: Chateau Heritage 9 from the Bekaa Valley

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Heritage Nine 2020

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Name: Chateau Heritage Nine 2020
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cinsault, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Merlot, Tempranillo, Cabernet-Franc, and Mourvèdre
Year: 2020
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley (Beqaa Valley)
Date Consumed: May 18, 2024

The Chateau Heritage 9 is a medium-bodied red wine with friendly tannins. But it doesn’t lack complexity. Made with nine different types of grapes, every sip of this wine contains a symphony of notes, including red fruits, black fruits, licorice, and oak.

Before uncorking it, I thought of the Chateau Heritage 9 as a mere experiment. After all, a blend of nine grapes isn’t ordinary.

I said, “You have to be someone like Des Esseintes from Against Nature by Joris K. Husymans to enjoy such wines.”

Honestly, I did not expect it to be this good.

And I wasn’t the only one to be impressed by it. Whoever tasted it liked it.

I’m giving this wine an 88/100.

A Quote:

He made his way to the dining-room, where in a recess in one of the walls, a cupboard was contrived, containing a row of little barrels, ranged side by side, resting on miniature stocks of sandalwood and each pierced with a silver spigot in the lower part.

This collection of liquor casks he called his mouth organ.

— Joris K. Huysmans, Against Nature

Review of a Lebanese Red Wine: Chateau Trois Collines Red Ample

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Trois Collines Red Ample 2019

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Name: Chateau Trois Collines Red Ample 2019
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Sangiovese, Merlot
Year: 2019
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: May 16, 2024

The Ample is an award-winning, smooth, medium-bodied red wine from North Bekaa. It’s slightly ferric, and it comes with strong notes of red fruits, especially cherries. I paired it with various types of strong cheeses, and I think it would be enough if I said that I enjoyed every sip as much as every bite.

Would I drink this wine again? Likely, yes. In general, the Sangiovese is not my favorite grape, but I liked this blend by Chateau Trois Collines.

And I wonder how this vintage will taste like five years from now.

Cigar Pairing: I believe a mild cigar with a claro or a Colorado wrapper would have enhanced the overall experience.

After the Vacation

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After the vacation comes
the brain fog,
the arduous task to reaccept the status quo,
and the quicksand that gradually swallows you
back into the routine you escaped from.

Even though you’ve come back (refreshed) to conquer,
You’re procrastinating still, snoozing, postponing
the great battle.
The warrior’s armor waits for you in the closet.
Your heart still hasn’t synchronized with
the rhythm of the hammer striking the anvil.

But you must get up anyway.
So, you get up now.
You get out of bed.

There’s work to be done.

A cold shower,
then coffee.

You wear your armor.

The sun rises to meet a clear, blue sky
that appears to have never met dark, grey clouds.
But you remember the winter storms.
You remember every war you’ve won.

If God wills it,
you will win this one, too.

And when you’re done,
the boulder will rest on the top of the hill,
and it will never roll back down.