Made from the indigenous Lebanese variety, Merwah, this unique wine delights with notes of elderflower, grapefruit and lemon-soaked rock salt. Fresh, with wonderful tension on the palate, this is a prickly, appetising, salty-spray wine with a gingery bite on the finish.

About the Producer

Passion and heritage has been passed down through the Bou Sleiman family for four generations. When Joseph Bou Sleiman took over the reins at Château Oumsiyat, he blended respect for local tradition with modern techniques to craft contemporary wines. A passionate vine grower, Joseph also built a modern winery in the village of Mtein, where he creates wines that are a fusion of Old World and New World. The grapes are grown in the 78-hectare vineyard, situated at over 1,000 metres elevation in the beautiful Bekaa Valley, between Mount Lebanon to the west and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains to the east. The altitude, microclimate and soils combine in this ancient terroir to produce fresh wines with a very Mediterranean “feel.”

Vineyard and Winery

The vines are planted at an altitude of 1,100 to 1400 metres above sea level, where the warm days are tempered by cooler nights. The summer diurnal temperature difference is 20°C, which encourages an extended ripening period, concentrating the flavors and aromatic complexity in the berries, while retaining balancing acidity from the cool nights. The soil is calcareous clay which is a cool soil that has good water retention properties to nourish the vines during the hot, dry summers. Due to its pH, calcareous clay soils tend to produce refreshing wines, which encourages further balance to the ripeness of fruit. The vines are cane pruned and are planted at a density of 4,000 vines per hectare. The vineyard is cultivated with respect for the environment and the grapes are hand-harvested at optimal maturity. Merwah is an indigenous Lebanese variety which thrives in this terroir and was previously used in the production of Arak but is now coming into its own as a single variety wine.

The grapes were carefully hand-harvested and gently pressed. The must was racked and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at 14 to 16°C with selected yeasts. The wine did not go through malolactic conversion to maintain the crisp and fresh style. This wine was vinified without the influence of oak, in order to showcase the characteristics of the Merwah variety.