Tag: Lebanon

Reviewing Chateau Ksara's Old Vine Carignan Wine, vintage 2021.

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Ksara Old Vine Carignan 2021

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Name: Chateau Ksara Old Vine Carignan 2021
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Carignan
Year: 2021
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: February 21, 2025

A medium-bodied red wine that pairs nicely with Lebanese barbecue and mezza.

I like it, and it’s affordable, but let me tell you that it’s not the best Lebanese wine out there…

If you’re new to Lebanese wines, don’t start here. Not a lot of things can make up for a bad first impression.

Don’t get me wrong, though. Chateau Ksara’s Old Vine Carignan is not a bad wine. It’s just not a great wine. Therefore, it cannot speak on behalf of other Lebanese wines.

This Old Vine Carignan is merely a wine that I wouldn’t mind having occasionally in casual settings.

Drinking the Bacchic juice from this bottle, I got notes of red fruits, black fruits, and spices.

Overall, the wine was pretty smooth and easy to drink, but its acidity left citrusy traces in my throat.

Reviewing the Lebanese Wine called Cadet de Ka from Chateau Ka

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Ka Cadet de Ka 2020

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Name: Chateau Ka Cadet de Ka 2020
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah
Year: 2020
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: February 19, 2025

Affordable bottle. Average taste. Fine for a sangria or a calimocho.

I opened a bottle of Cadet de Ka last night to have something to sip on while taking care of things at home. I drank the first glass, and then I poured myself a second glass. I didn’t really enjoy it, but I needed it. Wine is wine, especially when all you want is that nice buzz after a long day at work.

Reviewer of Lebanese wines reviewing a red wine from Lebanon called Skarya Le Rouge

Lebanese Wines: Skarya Le Rouge 2021

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Name: Skarya Le Rouge 2021
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Merlot, Syrah
Year: 2021
Country: Lebanon
Region: Beit Lahia, Beqaa
Date Consumed: February 13, 2025

I had some friends over last night, and the ideal atmosphere to try new wines was created. We were sitting by the fireplace, chitter-chattering, enjoying our time. So, I went ahead and uncorked a bottle none of us had ever tried.

Here’s Skarya Le Rouge, a wine made by a distillery called Striped Hyena Distillery, which is clearly named after Lebanon’s national animal, which is, of course, the striped hyena…

Comparatively, we can say that Skarya is a new wine, a noob amongst well-established Lebanese wineries. At the time of writing this, Skarya Le Rouge as well as the other wines made by Striped Hyena Distillery are almost unknown to the general public. Their bottles aren’t commonly found in supermarkets. And when I looked them up on the internet, I found very little information about them. This may or may not change, depending on the quantity of bottles they produce and the budget they allocate for marketing.

Now, a few words about the wine itself, Skarya Le Rouge:

The Skarya Le Rouge is a casual wine that doesn’t require your full attention and can be drunk in informal settings. It comes with warm and cozy notes of friendship. It has its flaws and imperfections, but it is not sipped to be judged. It is young and promising, but it is not who it wants to be yet.

Overall, it can be said that it is an acceptably good wine. But that is all.