Tag: wine review

Review of Chateau Oumsiyat Rouge Desir

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Oumsiyat Rouge Desir 2021

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

Name: Chateau Oumsiyat Rouge Desir 2021
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Syrah, Tempranillo
Year: 2021
Country: Lebanon
Region: Mount Lebanon
Date Consumed: April 10, 2025

Here we have a medium-bodied red wine with well-balanced tannins by Chateau Oumsiyat. Smooth and approachable, notes of red fruits and black fruits come together to elicit a pleasant overall experience. Nice aroma, nice flavor, nice structure, and a polite finish.

However, I personally expected more from this wine called Rouge Desir. I expected passion and lust in their liquid form.

Would I purchase another bottle? Yes.
Would I keep one in the cabinet for special occasions? No.
Would I age a bottle? No.
Would I suggest it to friends? Yes. It’s a nice blend, after all.

Review of the Lebanese Wine called Reserve Ammiq Pinot Noir

Lebanese Wines: Reserve Ammiq Pinot Noir 2021

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

Name: Reserve Ammiq Pinot Noir 2021
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Year: 2021
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: April 6, 2025

Although, as you may know, I’m not the biggest pinot noir fan, my taste buds were fairly entertained by the elixir that came out of this bottle. The Reserve Ammiq Pinot Noir 2021 is a medium-bodied wine with soft tannins. The sip is a velvety bouquet of notes. It carries a balance flavors of blueberry, cherry, plum, mushroom, and earth. It can be served chilled on a hot summer evening with fruits, cheeses, pasta, or Lebanese mezza.

Would I purchase another bottle? Yes.
Would I keep one in the cabinet? No.
Would I age a bottle? No.
Would I suggest it to friends? It depends.

Review of Lebanese Wines by a top Lebanese Wine Reviewer: Chateau Ksara Le Souverain 2019

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Ksara Le Souverain 2019

Chris KhatschLeave a comment

Name: Chateau Ksara Le Souverain 2019
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Marselan, Arinarnoa
Year: 2019
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: March 21, 2025

I’m not very familiar with the grape varieties of this wine, but the spirit of cabernet sauvignon is in it, and I can taste it. Notes of black fruits, licorice sticks, and aphrodisiac spices come together to fill my mouth with poetry. I want more… but I don’t want to drink too fast.

I scrupulously enjoy and savor the wine, but I’m afraid I uncorked it too soon. The tannins are strong. I could have aged it a couple of years, and then I would have something much, much better. Much, much deeper.

Out of nowhere, I remember a sentence from Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus. It says, “If the world were clear, art would not exist.”

That’s why I sometimes blur the world with wine, I think — to make it less clear and be able to appreciate life as a work of art.

A clear, one-dimensional world is unfit for the soul of man…