Mersel Bekaa Valley 'Lebnani Abyad' White 1L 2022
The vibe: If I asked you where the oldest winemaking region in the world was, where would you guess? Greece? Georgia? Egypt? No one really knows the exact birthplace of wine, but these countries are all early players. Know who else is up there? Lebanon. Wine has existed in Lebanon since 7000 BC or so. Phoenicians were making wine in Lebanon thousands of years ago and even exported a large amount of it to other civilizations like Egypt. The Temple of Bacchus (Bacchus being the Roman God of wine) still stands in Lebanon and is testament to the region’s affinity for the good juice. It’s also the highest elevation wine growing region in the northern hemisphere, with a ton of microclimates and massive diurnal temperature swings similar to Mendoza, Argentina. French Jesuits arrived in the 19th century and brought with them French varietals, which display a unique expression given the area’s terroir and long ripening season. This wine is a skin contact blend of both the indigenous varietal Merwah (a cousin of Semillon) and the well known Sauvignon Blanc. It’s structured and broad on the palate, with tart, savory, and mineral notes converging beautifully, plus a hit of tropical and banana on the nose and finish. A truly beautiful bottle and label, from a beautiful region.
The winemaker: Eddie Chami is an Australian-Lebanese wine pioneer. He holds a degree in winemaking from UC Davis and after graduation moved to Lebanon and reestablished his grandparents vineyards by 2011. Seeing the Lebanese wine scene evolving to mimic the French scene, and inspired by Greek winemaking which focuses on local varietals, he embraced several native varietals and lets them express themselves based on each individual vineyard site. The resulting wines are both entirely eccentric and effortlessly approachable. He and his wife, Michelle, cofounder of Heya Wines, continue to make wine as the region’s conflict rages on. We continue to support these incredible humans through their wines and periodically donate to Red Cross Lebanon and Beit el Baraka, two charities recommended to us by Eddie. If you are able, please consider donating what you can.
The geeky details: Sauvignon Blanc (60%), Merwah (40%). Indigenous Merwah vines, over 150 year old. Merwah is harvested in the first week of October, it goes a slow ferment on skins for three weeks. It is then pressed and blended with the Sauvignon Blanc. The wines go through MLF naturally, they are racked twice before being bottled in late spring. Sauvignon Blanc picked first week of August, partially destemmed, partially pressed, free-run juice added back on skins in stainless tanks. Punch down occurs twice daily. It ferments for three weeks at 17 degrees celsius. An additional two weeks of maceration is done.
Serve: With a chill.
Food pairing: Spicy food! Salty/savory food! Since this has a little more structure it would also go amazing with heartier chicken-based dishes, lamb, roasted veggies, porkchops, even fall stew!
Album pairing: Toufic Farroukh - Villes Invisibles