Domaine des Tourelles Red (Lebanon)

This red is a blend of four French grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Syrah (40%), Cinsault (15%) and Carignan (5%) - grown in Eastern Lebanon! It's full-bodied, combining the savoury satisfaction of a rustic French style with the ancient terroir of the Bekaa Valley.

Deep ruby red with fantastically expressive aromas of cherries, cedar wood, rosemary and cloves. A rich, savoury palate with Morello cherry, blackberry and herbaceous flavours, some earthy spice and fine tannins.

Grapes are grown on 15-20 year old vines on sandy limestone, with clay sub-soils. All four varietals were hand harvested and fermented in concrete vats for 10 days. Malolactic fermentation begins spontaneously, after which the wine is blended and then aged for 16 months in concrete vats.

Domaine des Tourelles is one of the longest established and most highly acclaimed wineries in Lebanon. Founded in 1868, Domaine de Tourelles was the first commercial cellar in Lebanon producing wines, arak and other spirits. In 2000, the estate was bought by Nayla Kanaan Issa-el-Khoury and Elie F. Issa.  It is run by their children, Faouzi Issa (winemaker), Christaine Issa and Emile Issa-el Khoury.  This young and dynamic trio proudly apply artisan winemaking skills and traditions to their handcrafted wines, including minimum intervention in the vineyards and cellar, using indigenous natural yeasts, not fining or filtering, and only allowing very small amounts of sulphur. The winery boasts intelligent ancestral architectural design that keeps the ideal ambient temperature all year round, and concrete vats (a rarity in Lebanon) that provide the best biological conditions for natural winemaking processes – preserving the authentic taste of Lebanon’s terroir.