Chateau Ksara excels
Lebanon's oldest winery, with its focus on sustainable agriculture methods, succeeds because of its combination of respect for tradition plus a willingness to innovate.
Elie Maamari, chief winemaker and export manager at Chateau Ksara in Lebanon, gave me a private tasting at the excellent Zarathustra restaurant in Oslo, Norway.
Amidst four courses of fine Lebanese food, we tasted five wines that pair so well with this style of food. Chateau Ksara grows its grapes at an average of 1,000 metres elevation in the Bekaa Valley. The altitude means that hot summer days are balanced by cool evenings, an ideal climate for grape growing.
The 2018 Merwah matches marvellously with any kind of starter with its slightly funky citrus taste and aromas of white flowers. Zarathustra provided a range of traditional delights such as humus, borek and aubergine dip. Merwah is an ancient grape from Lebanon that has been used to make dry wines and arak, a digestif similar in taste to raki or pernod.
We tasted the 2019 Blanc de Blanc with a second course of mostly vegetable-based dishes such as baked cauliflower. This is the Ksara’s biggest-selling wine, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Chardonnay. Then followed my favourite white, the 2016 Ksara Chardonnay. It is fermented and aged, on lees, in a combination of new and old oak which produces intense aromas and flavours.
The meat dish — grilled chicken and lamb — was complemented by two fine reds, the 2018 Couvent and the 2015 Chateau Ksara. The Couvent is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and is Ksara’s most popular red. Ksara make about 700,000 bottles a year and they always sell out quickly. It is easy to know why when you taste this ripe delight.
The Chateau Ksara is held back for four years in good vintages before release. In the mouth it offers a mass of black fruits like cassis plus soft tannins and is an ideal companion to protein. It is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot yet could be drunk without food because of the soft tannins.
Chateau Ksara is the largest and oldest winery and vineyard in Lebanon. Jesuit priests established the estate in 1857. It makes 17 wines plus an arak and two eaux de vie (a brandy-like spirit created by distilling grape juice). Their blog offers a beautiful collection of photos that take you there in a virtual environment.
Most wine in Lebanon is made by French winemakers, or Lebanese people who trained in France. Elie Maamari is in the latter group. Ksara wines have a distinct quality and elegance that combine French elegance with Lebanese terroir.
Vinetum is the Norwegian importer for Chateau Ksara wines. Thank you to Vinetum for paying for dinner.