2014 Château Cana – Jardin Secret

This wine’s unique bouquet can be attributed to its 100% tenor in a traditional Lebanese grape ‘Sabbaghieh’.

Grown in villagers’ gardens, ‘Sabbaghieh’ grapes deliver a wine that is dense and deep, offering the specific taste of sunny grapes. The vines are planted on terraces; and consequently the grapes are handpicked during the harvest season, which is softer on the vines and helps with the quality control, such as dismissing under ripe or rotten grapes. The sorted grapes are quickly de-stemmed and crushed. With our minimal intervention model of wine making, the must (or juice) can begin fermenting naturally within 6-12 hours. After around 5 weeks of fermentation, maturing of Jardin Secret takes place naturally by allowing the wine to rest in stainless tanks to undergo the malolactic fermentation. The wine is then aged in oak barrels to add complexity, reduce the acidity and round the tannins.

Technical Information

• Year: 2014

• Grape variety: 100% Sobbaghieh

• Fermentation: In stainless steel tanks

• Maturing: 6 months in second use oak barrels of 225 Liters

• Alcohol content: 14%

• Serving temperature: 12-18°C

• Altitude: The vines are located 900 meters above sea levels. They are hand picked and sorted on the spot.

• Yield: The average yield per vine doesn’t exceed 2 kilograms. The majority of our vines stretch over ancient terraced slopes and enjoy 300 days of sunshine a year.

• Talking points: Sobbaghie is a Lebanese grape.

The name comes from the word “Sabbagha” which means dye/tint. In Lebanon back in the days, they used to use this grape to color vinegar or as a natural dye. Why? Because it is a grape that not only is red from the outside but is also red from the inside unlike other regular red grapes. So it is very dense in color. Till this day we are the only winery that uses this grape to produce wine. It has a very interesting bouquet and it really is something special.

Find this and more exceptional selections at Kaasak.

Chateau Ksara Blanc De L'Observatoire is intensely aromatic on the nose, with soft rich fruit, a zesty palate and a long, very fresh finish. This wine seduces with its finesse, elegance and floral aroma.

Chateau Ksara Blanc De L'Observatoire is an interesting blend of aromatic white grapes: 45% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Muscat and 20% Clairette. The Sauvignon Blanc gives this wine its finesse and elegance, the Muscat its subtle flowery aroma and the Clairette its fruitiness, roundness and rich taste. Each wine is matured separately for three months in French oak casks, before being blended and bottled.

Find this and more exceptional selections at Kaasak.

Chateau Ksara's Merwah is a profound and ancient expression of Lebanon's formidable terroir. Made from 60-year-old vines, grown on the terraced hill of the tiny, North Lebanese village of Douma at over 1,500 meters, giving freshness and flavor intensity to the fruit. It is hand harvested at very low yields in the mid-October and vinified with minimal intervention.

The Merwah's rounded character and inherent complexity allows it to be enjoyed alone or with food.

FOOD PAIRING: Aperitif, Cold cuts, Grilled fish and seafood, Lebanese Mezze, Light cheese - Goat cheese, Pasta and pizza

Find this and more exceptional selections at Kaasak.

Winemaking: The grapes are manually harvested, totally stemmed and transferred to tank in order to achieve the alcoholic fermentation. The Cinsault is shortly vatted to keep the freshness, the Syrah and Mourvedre are kept for a longer time to extract the aroma and spices, and the Cabernet-Sauvignon undergoes long skin contact to express length and elegance. The free flowing and press wine achieve the malolactic fermentation in different vats.

Maturing: The grape varietals are matured separately in vats for 14 to 18 months before being blended, fined and bottled. Taste: Its bright intense ruby red colour, with an exotic fruity aroma along with spicy and licorice notes make it a wine to remember. The mellow and supple tannins produce a persisting length on the Palate Ageing It can be drunk upon purchase or kept for 2 to 3 years in a good cellar.

Serving: Its easy flowing taste suits daily consumption and goes along very well with leg of lamb and stew

Find this and more exceptional selections at Kaasak.

Said Touma came from a family with a long history in the alcohol business and founded Clos St. Thomas in 1997. The winery was named after the chapel of St. Thomas, found in the heart of the vineyards.

Arak Touma is distilled four times using a variety of grapes and quality aniseed.

The arak of Chateau Ksara is a truly authentic expression of Lebanon's traditional, anise-flavored spirit.

It is produced in a specially-designed alembic still using an innovative technique to assure that only the heart of the distillate, the real "pure flower", is used. Finally, following ancestral norms, Ksarak is matured for two years in clay jars from Beit Chebab before it is at last ready for consumption.