Tag: wine review

Review of the Lebanese Wine from the Bekaa Valley Chateau Kefraya Comte de M 2020

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Kefraya Comte de M 2020

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Name: Chateau Kefraya Comte de M 2020
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah
Year: 2020
Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Date Consumed: January 2, 2025

One of the best Lebanese wines one can have.

Chateau Kefraya’s Comte de M 2020 is a full-bodied wine with playful tannins, and it comes with notes of black fruits, plum, tobacco, oak, and leather.

The most impressive Comte de M vintage I’ve had is probably 2008, which I’ve paired with a Macanudo cigar back in 2021, but this young 2020 vintage that I’ve tried recently was also quite impressive. (If I had another bottle, however, I’d definitely age it a few years. It’s a wine that deserves to be matured.)

Naturally, the Comte de M is a wine that would pair nicely with red meat, strong cheeses, and charcuterie. But I prefer to add some smokiness to the whole experience and pair it with mild or medium-bodied cigars rather than food. It is how I roll…

Review of Lebanese Red Wines: Chateau Cana Jardin Secret

Lebanese Wines: Chateau Cana Jardin Secret 2016

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Name: Chateau Cana Jardin Secret 2016
Type: Red Wine
Grapes: Sabbaghieh
Year: 2016
Country: Lebanon
Region: Mount Lebanon
Date Consumed: December 16, 2024

A medium-bodied red wine from Mount Lebanon that had stronger tannins than I expected and notes of black cherries, strawberry lollipops, olive oil, tobacco, and leather. (And there was this ferric, rusty aftertaste that I couldn’t understand. Where did it come from?)

Now and then, I swirled the wine to observe the sediment that gave it character. “Some people look much wiser than they are,” I thought. And then I said to myself that Chateau Cana’s Comète Rouge is much better than the Jardin Secret, even though the former is much cheaper than the latter.

Overall, the Jardin Secret is a good wine that could have been better. I’d give it a 72/100.

Review of the Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir from Lebanon

Lebanese Wines: Chateau St Thomas Pinot Noir 2018

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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.