Three that aren’t Musar and I liked:
2016 Château Ksara Blanc de l’Observatoire Bekaa Valley White Blend
2016 Clos St. Thomas Les Gourmets Rouge Bekaa Valley Red Blend
TNs on CT if you’re interested
and
“Prince Blanc” 2010
Coteaux de Botrys
Batroun, Lebanon
Marsanne/Chardonnay
Soft and a bit buttery but very interesting. V gd balance & length.
Hi Mark - This is a fantastic film that made me think hard and long about what I know about Lebanese wines. Thank you for that. When I found out about it a couple of months ago I could not find a way to watch it. Had a discussion with Charles Massoud(Paumanok & Palmer Vyds) about the film and he had not seen it yet. I passed along the Amazon link to him to watch as he has been a big supporter of the Lebanese people especially these past few years. My experience is mostly with Chateau Musar and recently had a 1982 vintage with friends. Will look for more examples of other Lebanese wines including those outside Beqaa Valley. Thanks again for the movie.
Can’t wait to watch this!
Great wines! All three wineries have prominent roles in the film. Ksara being the oldest continuously-operated winery in Lebanon started by Jesuit monks in the 1850’s. Clos St. Thomas’ former winemaker, Yves Morard, is a Frenchman who started making wine for Chateau Kefraya in the early 80’s just as Israel was invading the Beqaa Valley, tanks rolling over old vine Cinsault and Carignan vineyards on their way north. He was taken prisoner, brought back to Tel Aviv and thoroughly questioned on how to make wine, as they believed he was a spy. Coteaux de Botrys, run by the strong-willed Neila Bitar, the daughter of a general in the Lebanese army, is a small winery - I’m amazed that you’ve had this wine as distribution is limited mainly to UK/Europe.
If you have a chance to try Domaine de Bargylus (Syria), do try. It’s made under consultation with Stéphane Derenoncourt and is squeaky clean, polished, and balanced. While many here are partial to Musar (they play a prominent role in the film), it’s impressive that such a wide variety of different styles and grape varieties can be grown in the eastern Mediterranean.
Thanks for sharing, I’ll check out your TN’s.
I am excited to watch this film. I was fascinated by a book I read some years ago that had a similar theme albeit a different geographical location. It was titled: “Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure.” It will be interesting to see the similarities and the differences.
Thanks, Mark for the winery info.
The Clos St. Thomas and Ksara I got at Syriana in Ellicott City, MD. Very interesting place with excellent food, wine and also things from that part of the world to buy. IIRC run by a Syrian doctor who immigrated a few years ago. They also sell:
*Ksara Reserve Du Couvent (Lebanon)
Syrah, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, 7.99/29.99
*St. Thomas Les Gourmet Rouge (Lebanon)
Cinsault, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.99 /29.99
WHITE
*Ksara Blanc de l’Observatoire (Lebanon)
Obeidy, Muscat, Clairette Sauvignon, 7.99/29.99
*Clos St. Thomas Obeidv (Lebanon)
Obeidy, an Indigenous grape, 7.99/29.99
ROSE
*Domaine des Tourelles (Lebanon)
Syrah, Tempranillo, Cinsault, 7.99/29.99
any comments on those much appreciated. My daughter lives nearby so we’ll be down there once COVID settles down (we planned to be there now, but postponed when we heard about the COVID situation) and I could easily pick up a few bottles.
The Coteaux de Botrys I had at a resto in Abu Dhabi about 7 years ago. Just saw it on the list. I always like to try local wines.
I will keep an eye out for Domaine de Bargylus, thanks for the tip!
BTW does Oman make any wine? I’d think not given the religious restriction, but there probably are some good spots for vineyards in the mountains.
I was already planning to watch your movie, now I’ll definitely have to!
Another BTW: this might interest you
https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1327590#p1327590
(if the link doesn’t work, search Death by Shiraz in Wine Talk)
Bravo!
Well done, mark.
So now I just bought a bunch of Lebanese wines on K&L.
Looking forward to opening these wines while watching this. Thank you Mark.
I see this is an old post, but it’s worth replying to. You have great advice from Chris here:
Great bottles of 1980 really can be awesome, literally. Maybe even more so, 1981. US pricing has gotten quite high on these older vintages, but I think they are still well worth the money, especially the Broadbent imports.
I’m looking forward to watching the documentary.
Although I was familiar with Musar before, I only learned how to approach it here on WB
Kefraya is a producer that we enjoy: their “Comte de M” is one of their top bottlings, a cabernet sauvignon and syrah mostly blend, and a recent 2010 bottle was good to go IMO; At the other end of the range, we also usually enjoy their “Les Breteches”.
Cheers
One of my favorite Lebanese wines is the Domaine Wardy Chateau Les Cedres. It’s a Cab Sav/Merlot blend.
I also second the Les Breteches suggestion, and also recommend the Ksara Reserve du Couvent wine as a good low-cost option.
Excellent lesser known wineries: Domaine de Baal and chateau Belle Vue.
x`
If you’re into Arak, Arak Brun is the top well-known brand around (comes from Domaine des Tourelles).
In my Prime cue. I was first introduced to Lebanese wines at Zaytinya in DC. The bartender was from Lebanon and was quite familiar with the producers. I have a couple 05 Musar but won’t be drinking those for a while I guess.
I really enjoyed this documentary, great job Mark!
I was lucky enough to meet Serge and his son Gaston around '99/'00 at a wine shop on the Upper West Side. I had heard the shop (I can’t remember the name, but I can still picture the room) was doing a Musar tasting with Serge and being part Lebanese, I felt obligated to go as I had heard my grandfather talk about the beautiful mountains and wine regions of Lebanon. He poured the red and white Musar and the Hochar and spent about 20 minutes taking the group through the wines. There were maybe 15 people there, it was small wine shop and standing room only. After the tasting, my wife and I introduced ourselves and I told him about the stories my grandfather had told. Serge then proceeded to give me a history lesson on Lebanon. He was so passionate about his country and his wine. He had such a wonderful character that also came through in the documentary. He probably spent 15 minutes talking to us and I have to say he was one of the most interesting people I have ever met.
Just got some 92 Musar blanc. Hope like hell these old bottles are still showing.
Hey Mark,
Jumping in a year or 2 late here but what an absolutely amazing project and film!
Thanks for telling such a wonderful story. We’ve worked pretty frequently with the Chateau Musar wines for some of our “Ancient Origins of Wine” in-person seminars/tastings over the years, and the two Archeologists on the team (Dana De Pietro & Jeff Pearson) have both excavated and traveled extensively in the Levant, with Jeff spending time in Syria, and Dana even being in the area in 2006…
So glad that this thread is still being bumped and I happened to see it while lurking Wine Talk! I’ll reach out via PM – would love to pick your brain about wines in the region.
Just following up on my Ancient Wine Guys colleague Ryan’s post. I had the chance to watch the film and thought it was absolutely fantastic. I spent the summer of 2007 working in Syria and also travelled around Lebanon for a week, so the images and stories from the 2006 conflict really resonated with me. Y’all did a wonderful job capturing the stories of the winemakers and putting them in context. My personal experience with Lebanese and Syrian wine has been limited to Musar, Massaya, and a few other producers, but I am looking forward to seeking out some of the other names in the film!
Great film, thanks!
My daughter was in from California with her boyfriend of a year whom we hadn’t yet met. He’s from Syria, came over 10 years ago, and provided a lot of local color during the film. We opened my last bottle of Musar, a 1999. Such a nice wine. We all loved the movie, and I wish I could find Domaine de Bargylus in the US.
I’m not aware of any commercially produced wine from Oman, however there certainly is homemade wine being made, at least by expats who buy grapes (generally intended for arak or as table grapes) and make it for personal consumption.
There are historically well known grape growing regions in southern Syria (Bargylus is near Latakia, on the Mediterranean), northern Iraq, and likely many places in between. Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley was “the Bordeaux of the [ancient] world” (as Tarek Sakr, winemaker for Chateau Musar points out) likely due to a confluence of elevation/rainfall, large area of flat arable land, and proximity to Baalbek (a Roman religious center / pitstop on the Silk Road), so this is why we hear more about Lebanon’s wine even in ancient times. Like Burgundy vs. Bordeaux - there are many other equally impressive regions; small yet with so much potential.
Bravo to you, your partners, and all involved in this, Mark. Especially, of course, to the fascinating individuals who revealed so much of themselves for your cameras. Serge Hochar serves as sort of the the central bigger-than-life person (part businessman, winemaker, philosopher, spiritual guru), but there is a constellation of other interesting characters circling throughout with with fascinating stories, insights, and philosophical observations. The Lebanese DNA of perseverance and making the best of even a bad situation comes through strongly. Truly well done and maybe even a work of art.
“Should i continue, or should I stop. No, I stop. Done!”
Thanks, Mark. Watched your film and greatly enjoyed it. What struck me most was the commitment and passion of the winemakers, pursuing their dream in such exceptionally dangerous circumstances. In fact, more than pursuing a dream, they seemed to see themselves as carrying the torch of an ancient pursuit, making wine, that in the long run will outlive the political and religious problems of the region.
I had a good friend from Latakia, long gone, who I met years ago in France. Mention of Bargylus (which I learned from your posts is nearby) now reminds me of him.