An impressive take on an orange wine from one of Lebanon's oldest wineries. The average age of the vines are 150 years old! Produced from Merweh, an indigenous Lebanese grape variety, given a dose of skin contact followed by maturation in qvevri, this is something different and with real character.

Tasting Notes

Colour

Light amber in colour

Nose

The nose rises up out to the glass to greet, with waves of spice, sweet clementine-infused fruit, and what can only be described as a sense of warmth. 

Palate

The palate opens up fresh and breezy, with the ripe apple and orange fruit coming through to fill up the mid-palate.  While nothing like as grippy as some orange wine there's also a pleasing hit of tannins, helping give the wine real structure and definition.

Production

The grapes were harvested in October. 100% manually with intensive selection in 20kg boxes. Several rounds are needed to obtain perfect ripeness. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in 19th-century made Amphoras for 7 days on skin contact, then followed by malolactic fermentation

Producer

Domaine des Tourelles was founded in 1868 by French adventurer François-Eugène Brun and is one of the most highly acclaimed and oldest wineries still operating in Lebanon. It was also the first commercial cellar in 'modern' Lebanon to produce wines, arak and other spirits. This place has history! The Brun family owned and ran the winery up until the last descendant died in 2003 but luckily two local families - the Issa and Issa el-Khoury families - joined forces to buy the property and continue the fine tradition of winemaking.

Today, this Bekaa Valley estate is run by the three Issa children - twins Faouzi and Johanne and their sister Christiane, alongside Emile Issa-el Khoury, son of one of the co-owners. This young and dynamic combination have introduced a handful of practices in the vineyards and cellar including the use of indigenous natural yeasts, no fining or filtering, and only very small amounts of sulphur. These techniques along with fruit from 40 hectares of ancient, organically cultivated and dry-farmed vineyards (among the oldest in the valley) and a winery perfect for hands-off winemaking, make Domaine des Tourelles one of the finest boutique wineries in the Middle East.

Specifications

No Tricks, Just Wine

This is an 'Orange Wine' - produced like a classic red wine, but from white grapes. The intensive aroma of Traminer and the creaminess of Chardonnay are complemented by a fine tannin structure.

Tasting Notes

Producer

Modest Michael Opitz feels passionately about sustainability and quality and so decided to take the small family winery into being organic and as natural as possible on every level. All the wines are defined by their environment. The Neusiedlersee or Seewinkel, is a saltwater lake that, in this flat, warm part of Austria, brings tempering breezes, freshness and protection from disease. The wines as a result are tremendously pure, fresh, fragrant and yet salty.

Specifications

Rkatsiteli fits so harmoniously and has taken root in our region that even the aroma of wine conveys our summer prairie heat with dry grass between the fields of sunflowers.

Tasting Notes

Rkatsiteli in our area has so harmoniously fit and taken root that even in the aroma of wine it conveys our summer steppe heat with dry herbs between sunflower fields. Taste: honey, nuts, ripe quince, yellow plums, apricot, dried apricots.

Production

"Aged in a 400-litre Spanish ceramic amphora for one month, this wine is focused and bright, yet possesses depth. It exudes the aroma of white flowers, garden herbs, Earl Grey tea, beeswax, nuts, lemon peel and quince. Approachable and youthful, it captures the essence of a sunlit garden, beautifully blending structure and terroir" - Lilla O'Connor, Decanter Magazine February 2024

Accolades

• 2023 Bronze World Wine Awards - Decanter

Specifications