Tag: Beqaa Valley

Review of the Lebanese wine Massaya Le Colombier by a Lebanese connoisseur, or, more precisely, a dilettante

Lebanese Wines: Massaya Le Colombier 2020

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

Name: Massaya Le Colombier 2020
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Tempranillo
Year: 2020
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: October 3, 2025

Young, balanced, and affordable. Massaya’s Le Colombier is amalgamation of red fruits, strawberry lollipop, and spices. It’s a smooth wine and is imbibed so easily that the bottle empties a little too quickly. One bottle isn’t enough for two, and two bottles is a little too much. Therefore, I suggest you do whatever you like with this information to derive maximum pleasure.

This wasn’t the first time I try Massaya’s Le Colombier, but it’s the first time I truly appreciate it. It’s one of those affordable, entry-level Lebanese red wines that everyone must try.

Review of Muse Le Rouge 2019, a Lebanese red wine from the Bekaa Valley.

Lebanese Wines: Muse Le Rouge 2019

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

Name: Muse Le Rouge 2019
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Syrah, Cabernet-Sauvignon
Year: 2019
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: March 18, 2024

Full-bodied red wine. Medium tannins. Black fruits, plum, blackberry. Some oak and tiny hints of licorice. Successfully paired with steak. I’d like to drink this while smoking a full-bodied maduro Nicaraguan cigar one day. Maybe next time I will. I’d give this wine a 79/100.

The taste of a muse’s kiss in my mouth,
a goddess lying naked on my tongue
making love to the stanzas
I’m about to recite.

Words dipped in wine,
words flowing, coming
from the heart, the soul,
from places as dark as cellars.

The smell of home,
the underground pubs where I spent
my early twenties,
smoking cigarettes,
sipping full-bodied wines
before and after making memories.

The memories aged like wine.
(Some of the girls I kissed didn’t.)
Bottles of good times
uncorked and emptied,
every drop of passion drunk,
every love song sung,
every fire finally extinguished.

And here I am,
a bearded man looking back
one last time
before I stride forward
and never look back again.

Review of Chateau Qanafar Mago 2018, a Lebanese wine.

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Qanafar Mago 2018

Chris Khatsch1 Comment

Name: Château Qanafar Mago 2018
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cinsault, Syrah, Cabernet-Sauvignon
Year: 2018
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa
Date Consumed: March 6, 2024

A medium-bodied, well-balanced, low tannin wine. I got notes of red fruits and minute hints of tobacco and spices. It’s not a wine I would bring with me to a formal dinner, but it’s a wine I wouldn’t mind adding to my collection.

Although it does not require your full attention, the Mago is a wine with character. It has something to say. It is also easy to drink, so it’s perfect for wine nights, for times when you plan on uncorking more than one bottle. And trust me when I say that you will want to have a second glass.

It’s a wine that keeps the conversation going. It’s a wine that can produce laughter as well as memories.

I’d give it 87/100.