Nobody knows when wine was first made in Lebanon, although the Phoenician ancestors of today's Lebanese were certainly among the earliest winemakers. Later, in the Greco-Roman era, a wine cult flourished, as the ruins of the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbeck in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley bear eloquent witness. In the heart of the Bekaa, near Baalbeck, lies the Ksara estate, so named because it was the site of a ksar, or fortress, at the time of the Crusades. The estate was later acquired by the Jesuit order in 1857 and was successfully run by them until they were required to sell it under the directives of the Vatican II Synod. The Ksara ‘natural’ wine cellar was originally a grotto and later during World War I these tunnels were enlarged to their present size. Essentially a mid-Eastern “bordeaux” blend of 40% Syrah alongside 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc aged in oak for ten months. With a deep ruby colour it combines finesse and elegance with oaky and vanilla aromas and supple tannins to give it a rich and sumptuous feel with a persistent finish.
