Tag: Bekaa Valley

Review of Lebanese Wines: Chateau Heritage 9 from the Bekaa Valley

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Heritage Nine 2020

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

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

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

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.

Lebanese wine review: Clos St. Thomas Les Gourmets Red from the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon

Lebanese Wines: Clos St. Thomas Les Gourmets Rouge 2019

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Name: Clos St. Thomas Les Gourmets Rouge
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon
Year: 2019
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: April 30, 2024

A smooth, medium-bodied red wine from the Chateau St Thomas vineyard with low tannins and medium acidity. The major notes I got were of sweet berries, ripe red cherry, iron, and strawberry-lemon lollipop.

Les Gourmets Rouge is an affordable, easy-to-drink kind of wine, made to be consumed in casual settings.

It may not invoke the muses, and it may not release poetry from one’s lips, but it does have the power to create an environment where one can initiate warm conversations with close family members and friends.

Food Pairing: Red sauce pastas, cold cuts and cheeses, nuts and chips.

Cigar Pairing: medium-bodied claro or Colorado cigars. Maybe the Chateau Fuente King T Natural, or the Juan Lopez Adon, or even the Casa Turrent 1880 Rosado Gordito.