Review of a Lebanese wine from the Bekaa Valley: Domaine des Tourelles Cinsault Vieilles Vignes

Lebanese Wines: Domaine des Tourelles Cinsault Vieilles Vignes 2021

Name: Domaine des Tourelles Cinsault Vieilles Vignes 2021
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cinsault
Year: 2021
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: November 10, 2024

This bottle has been sleeping in the shadows with the other red wines in my collection since last year. It’s 100% cinsault. I’ve been meaning to drink it for some time, but I never really got the chance. But now that it’s wine season again, I finally got to uncork it and taste it.

Light-to-medium bodied, this red wine from the Bekaa Valley has balanced tannins and is so smooth that one can accidentally empty the whole bottle. (Oops!) Although I’m not a cinsault fanboy, I definitely don’t mind having more of it.

The sip contains notes of red fruits, subtle hints of spices, and subtler hints of earth.

I’d give this one a 79/100.

Review of the Cave Kouroum 8 Cepages Wine

Lebanese Wines: Cave Kouroum 7 Cepages 2013

Name: Cave Kouroum 7 Cepages 2013
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Gamay, Grenache, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah
Year: 2013
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: May 19, 2024

A full-bodied red wine from the Bekaa Valley with low-to-medium acidity and well-balanced tannins. It is a wine made with seven different grapes, and it is really worth trying. I uncorked a bottle during our Sunday barbecue with the family. There was me, my wife, my sister, her husband, and my mom. The wine was super easy to drink, and even though it was 11 years old, there was barely any sediment in it. For its age, it looked young and beautiful. It was paired with red meat and Lebanese mezza — successfully. And the whole party loved it. I’m giving it an 88/100.

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

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Heritage Nine 2020

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