Meeting 449 - -" Wines of Chateau Ksara, Lebanon"
Friday 20th May 2022
Neville Hall, Waltham St Lawrence
Introduced by Duncan Ross (Berkmann Wines)
Presented by Rachel Davey (Ksara Ambassador)
Our old friend Duncan Ross of Berkmann Wine Cellars brought Lebanese wines from Chateau Ksara.
He also brought Rachel Davey, who is the UK brand ambassador for Chateau Ksara and has been working with the Chateau Ksara team on
all their UK activities since 2017. She is also a director of the Champagne Sparkling Wine World Championships.
Rachel gave an excellent presentation, about the state of winemaking in Lebanon and its high-altitude terrior,
and about Chateau Ksara, founded by the Jesuits in 1857. It is both the oldest and the largest winery in Lebanon.
Our aperitif wine was a dry white, Blanc de l'Observatoire 2020. Then followed
two more white, one rose and five red wines.
All vines are picked by hand. Blends are all fermented separately before blending. The wines showed very well.
The Merwah is a grape that none of us had experienced. It was origionally unique to Chateau Musar but Chateau Ksara produced its
first 100% Merwah wine in 2017. The Sunset Rose wine was interesting. Made of Cabernet Franc and Syrah, it was relatively
deep in colour, had pleasant palate of raspberry with a clean acid finish. Ideal summer drink.
All the reds were excellent. The Cabernet Sauvignon was absolutely classic, with good fruit and a
tight tannic grip. The Troisieme Millenaire was as good as its price suggested, with luscious fruit, complexity and good
balance. Especially liked was the Old Vine Carignan, unusually 100% Carignan. It had a most attractive flavour, with
again excellent balance; it appeared to be absolutely at its best.
Mark gave us highly complementary food, starting with mezze,
of tabbouleh, home made hummus and labnah
(home made yogurt "cheese" - yogurt mixed with salt and strained overnight to remove the moisture - mixed
with a little garlic and herbs). After tasting the white and rosé wines we had kebbe (Lebanese spiced
meatballs served with muhemmara, a roasted red pepper and walnut dip). At the end of the tasting we
continued to drink the Cabernat Sauvignon as the supper wine, with chicken sharwarma, homemade
flatbreads, fattoush salad and baba ganoush (smoked aubergine purée).
| Aperitif: Blanc de l'Observatoire 2020 | 10.65 | 6+ |
| (1) Merwah 2020 | 13.54 | 6 |
| (2)Blanc de Blancs 2020 Blend of SB Semillon & Chardonnay | 12.93 | 7 |
| (3) Sunset Rose 2020 (60% CF 40% Syrah) | 11.80 | 7+ |
| (4) Le Prieure Rouge 2018 | 10.65 | 7 |
| (5) Reserve du Couvent Rouge 2018 (Syrah, CF & CS) | 11.34 | 8+ |
| (6) Old Vine Carignan 2018 | 13.45 | 8+* |
| (7) Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 | 18.26 | 8+ |
| (8) Cuvee du Troisieme Millenaire 2017 (Petit Verdot, CF & Syrah) | 32.13 | 9 |
** Price to Members