Domaine des Tourelles Vieilles Vignes Cinsault 2023

This cuvée comes from the western Bekaa, in Lebanon, where the Domaine des Tourelles vineyard lies at 1,050 metres. Grown in the valley since the mid-19th century, Cinsault had given way to imported grape varieties, until the estate brought it back to the fore in 2014 by selecting very old vines, more than fifty years old and planted at low density. The altitude tempers the Mediterranean sun and preserves the freshness of the grapes.

The grapes are harvested entirely by hand, in small crates, with rigorous sorting in the vineyard. Fermentation is carried out with native yeasts in concrete tanks for around ten days, then malolactic fermentation starts spontaneously. The wine is then aged for eight months in used, neutral French oak barriques, to offer the purest expression of the grape variety and the Bekaa terroir.

This wine reveals notes of raspberry, morello cherry, strawberry, pomegranate, rose petal, white pepper, thyme and dry earth. The fresh, juicy red fruit comes with floral touches and Mediterranean herbs. The palate, supple and easy-drinking, is fluid and elegant, carried by fine tannins and lovely freshness, through to a generous, slightly spicy finish.

The whole history of Lebanese wine goes back more than five millennia. It begins with the Phoenicians, an ancient civilisation whose strong culture of travel and trade was of considerable importance to the development of the first Mediterranean civilisation. Wine was a major export for this ancient culture and was shipped to Egypt in large volumes and traded for gold. Lebanon was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from 1517, and the strictly applied sharia laws allowed neither the growing of vines nor the making of wine, except for religious purposes. It was only when France inherited the mandate over Lebanon and Syria after the First World War, when the Ottoman Empire was dismantled, that viticulture would truly develop. Lebanon is therefore a Middle Eastern country with an ancient wine culture that has experienced a renaissance in recent decades. In 2011, around six million bottles of Lebanese wine were produced from 2,000 hectares of vineyards. Modern Lebanese viticulture has moved away from the old Phoenician port cities and shifted inland, to the fertile Bekaa Valley. There is also a handful of vineyards near Jezzine, a few kilometres from the southern end of the Bekaa Valley, just inland from Sidon. Most Lebanese wine is exported to the United Kingdom, France and the United States, where receptive consumers have encouraged healthy growth in Lebanon's modern wine industry. In 1998 there were fewer than 10 wineries in Lebanon; today there are more than 30. Red wines make up the largest share of production and are generally made from the classic grape varieties of southern France: Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. White wines may include Ugni Blanc, Clairette and Chardonnay.