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

Lebanese Wines: Skarya Le Rouge 2021

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.

Lebanese Wine Review: A Red Wine by Couvent Rouge

Lebanese Wines: Al Dayaa 2014 by Couvent Rouge

Name: Al Dayaa 2014 by Couvent Rouge
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon
Year: 2014
Country: Lebanon
Region: Deir El Ahmar, Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: February 2, 2025

An interesting discovery. This is good quality wine, and I’m happy that I tried it.

I bought it a while ago from a small mouneh shop located near the Monastery of Saint Maron in Aannaya. They had a selection of wine, and I just picked the one I was unfamiliar with. (You know me. I’m on a mission to try every red wine made in Lebanon.)

I uncorked the bottle on Sunday when we were having dinner with the family in an Airbnb apartment in Faqra. And all those who tried it liked it. It’s a smooth, easy-to-drink wine with notes of ripe red fruits and tiny hints of tomato and tobacco.

Unfortunately, since it isn’t really one of the famous wines of Lebanon, I couldn’t find anything about it on the internet. However, I got enough information about the bottle from the label — it mentions the name of the grapes used (Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo) and where it was bottled.

It was bottled in Couvent Rouge, and I’ve tried one of their wines before.

Review of the Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir from Lebanon

Lebanese Wines: Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir 2018

Name: Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir 2018
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Year: 2018
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: December 8, 2024

A dry, medium-bodied, ruby-colored wine with balanced tannins. This bottle of Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir spent a year collecting dust on my shelf along with other wines I didn’t manage to consume last winter. I finally uncorked it on Sunday during lunch to pair it with baked white fish. The wine was smooth, and the pairing was successful. I got nice flavors of red fruits, prunes, tobacco, oak, and mild spices. The Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir can be a good option for cheese and wine nights, too. It’s a stellar wine — very easy to drink, very easy to like, worth a try, worth the price. Overall, I’d give it an 86/100.