2024 Domaine des Tourelles - Blanc Bekaa Valley (750ml)

Domaine des Tourelles is one of the longest-established and most acclaimed wineries in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Founded in 1868 by French adventurer François-Eugène Brun, the estate was the first commercial cellar in Lebanon to produce wine, arak, and other spirits. In 2000 it was purchased by the Issa and Issa-el-Khoury families, both closely tied to the Brun family through friendship and kinship, and today the winery is run by winemaker Faouzi Issa, his two sisters, and Emile Issa-el Khoury. Faouzi trained in Montpellier and worked at Domaine René Rostaing in Côte-Rôtie before joining Château Margaux from 2007 to 2008, then returned to the Bekaa Valley to lead his family's estate.

This white blend comes from vineyards in the Western Bekaa, planted at 1,050 meters above sea level on gravelly limestone soils, with vines averaging 15 to 20 years old, entirely dry-farmed. The blend is 65% Viognier, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Obeidi, and 5% Muscat d'Alexandrie, hand-harvested in small boxes and fermented separately with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel over ten days, with no malolactic fermentation, before a gentle blending and clarification.

The finished wine shows brilliant clarity and a golden color with green reflections. The nose reveals pineapple, lychee, and jasmine, seducing with exotic fruit and floral character that carries through to the palate, finishing juicy and mouth-watering.

This is a versatile wine for a range of Mediterranean flavors, from Lebanese mezze to Spanish tapas.