Couvent Rouge Petit Couvent Rouge 2020

Petit Couvent Rouge comes from vineyards around Deir El Ahmar, in the north of the Bekaa Valley, in the Baalbek region. Planted between 950 and 1,650 metres above sea level, the vines draw their character from clay-limestone soils mixed with red earth, under a Mediterranean climate tempered by altitude.

Vinification is traditional, carried out in stainless-steel tanks.

This wine reveals notes of blueberry, blackcurrant, blackberry, cherry, red fruit, plum, violet, aromatic herbs and cinnamon. The palate is broad and dry, driven by generous substance, assertive tannins and medium acidity that keeps it balanced. The long, persistent finish carries on the flavours of black fruit and spice.

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.