2020 Domaine des Tourelles - Cinsault Vieilles Vignes Bekaa Valley (750ml)

Domaine des Tourelles was founded in 1868 by the French expatriate François-Eugène Brun on the western edge of the Bekaa Valley, making it one of Lebanon's oldest wineries. The estate has changed remarkably little since then, still using its original nineteenth-century cement fermentation tanks and an old basket press housed in low, red-tiled buildings. It is now run by winemaker Faouzi Issa, who trained in Bordeaux and the Rhône before returning home to farm the family's 40 hectares by hand, using sustainable practices and minimal intervention throughout the cellar.

Cinsault has been grown in the Bekaa Valley since the mid-nineteenth century, though it later gave way to newer varieties. In 2014, Domaine des Tourelles set out to revive it, seeking out dry-farmed vines over fifty years old growing at around 1,050 meters in clay and limestone soil in the Western Bekaa. The 2020 growing season saw an early heatwave that sped up ripening and pushed alcohol slightly higher, though the old vines still preserved good natural acidity. Grapes are hand-harvested and fermented with native yeasts in concrete, then aged in neutral French oak barrels.

The wine shows an inviting mix of red fruit, dried fig, and cherry, with warm baking spice and a touch of leather from the vintage's added ripeness. Medium-bodied with firm, ripe tannins and real freshness, it finishes with a bright, dry snap. It pairs naturally with lamb, kibbeh, or other hearty, spiced dishes.