Spotlight on Domaine Des Tourelles

Written by Chris Nolan

Welcome to Lebanon on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean, part of Levent region, the fertile crescent and amongst the cradles of human civilisation. This troubled region has been plagued by conflict which is once again flaring up and at the time of writing, threatening to turn into something bigger. Whichever side of the fence you sit, the politics are divisive and heated, but it is important to remember that real people live here. The team at Domaine Des Tourelles are making outstanding wines and the message they are trying to promote, “Peace Grows Here” has never been so important.

Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley

Lebanon is only small, due to how maps are drawn it can be hard at a glance to determine the size of the area. The land space covered by modern Lebanon is comparable to the size of Yorkshire. Despite the small land area, Lebanon is actually quite important for the ancient spread of viticulture. As one of the cradles of civilisation, wine making culture in Lebanon goes back to antiquity. It is believed that the Phoenicians, the influential and far-ranging sea trading peoples, were the first to grow grapes around the area that is now Lebanon. These original vineyards were situated near the all-important Phoenician port cities on the Mediterranean coast. From here the wines and vines could be exported by the Phoenicians, helping to proliferate the vine across the Mediterranean basin.

The top wines of Lebanon are no longer produced in the low-lying coastal areas, instead the vines are grown at high altitude in the Bekaa Valley. The Bekaa valley is inland and more or less runs up the spine of the country between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains. This is the fertile region, the breadbasket where a huge proportion of Lebanon’s produce is grown. Sitting at 1000m above sea level, it is this altitude that is the key to the quality of the grapes grown here. The Altitude creates a moderating effect for the vines, protected from the humidity of the Mediterranean to the West and the dry dust and searing heat from deserts of Syria to the East. The days are hot and sunny resulting in ripe grapes with velvety, developed tannins but because of the altitude, the temperatures plummet at night helping the grapes retain a vibrancy and juiciness.

Viticulture in Lebanon of course took a massive dip under Muslim rule, though the Christian population was allowed to produce wine for religious reasons. The modern Lebanese wine industry truly started in the early 20^th century under French rule, we all know the French need wine to function. The wine industry of Lebanon is still highly influenced by the French, including the overwhelming proportion of French varietals planted in the vineyards of the Bekaa. As a small nation with a largely Muslim population, the vast majority of Lebanese wine is exported, with the largest share destined for the UK as the biggest market and also France and the US.

Domaine Des Tourelles

The highly acclaimed Domaine Des Tourelles is an old winery by Lebanese standards, founded in 1868, predating the more globally famous Chateau Musar by 62 years. French adventurer, Francois-Eugene Brun, was the founder of the winery and it remained in his family’s possession until 2003 when the last surviving family member died. Luckily the winery was purchased by two local families - the Issa and Issa el-Khoury families who still run the winery to this day.

Today, the estate is run by the three Issa children - twins Faouzi and Johanne and their sister Christiane, alongside Emile Issa-el Khoury, son of one of the co-owners. The team is young, dynamic and are utilising many modern techniques in the vineyards and winery, and have transformed Domaine Des Tourelles into one of the finest boutique wineries in the Middle East. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts, the wines are bottled un-fined and unfiltered and only a very minimal amount of sulphur is used in the entire process.

The vineyards themselves consist of 40 hectares of organically grown vines, all dry farmed without irrigation with the vast majority of the plants being more self-regulating old vines. The decision to dry farm is one of the most ecologically positive choices the winery could make, while the Bekaa is a fertile oasis, water pressures are still a real issue in the county. Dry farming also has the added bonus of the vines producing smaller, more flavour rich berries thus improving the wine in your glass!

The sustainability efforts of the wine team aren’t confined to the vines, the winery is fully solar powered, this conversion was completed in 2024 and is possible due to the Bekaa’s envious 300 glorious days of sunshine per year. Coming from our drizzle riddled isle, can you even imagine that? The switch to solar power is a smart decision in a country that does not have electricity available for the full 24 hours through the national grid. Bottles have been switched to lighter weight glass to reduce the carbon footprint during transportation. All the waste material such as grape pomace is composted for fertilizer for both the vineyards and neighbouring farmers. All labour is carried out by the local populace, providing jobs for people who would otherwise have to emigrate to the cities to find work.

Turbulence in the Middle East is nothing new. Domaine Des Tourelles and the Lebanese wine industry has had to endure and adapt to many problems over the years. Civil war raged from 1975 – 1990 causing massive turmoil in the country. The Bekaa itself is on the direct refugee trail from Syria, war driving desperate, hungry people through the vineyards. As previously mentioned, the majority of Lebanese wine is exported, leaving the country via the largest port, Beirut. Back in 2020 the port of Beirut, where a huge volume of stock is stored for export, was rocked by a blast releasing energy comparable to 1.1 kilotons of TNT, ranking it among the most powerful non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. In the last few years, missiles have been landing within 500m of the Domaine Des Tourelles winery itself, whilst no damage was done to the vines, shockwaves smashed bottles in the underground cellars.

Bombs are now once again falling in the Bekaa and at least 700,000 people have been displaced from the South of the country. Despite all of this, the team at Tourelles continue to try and improve what they offer and are investing heavily in the future of their winery. The team are highly active on social media, and if you are interested in seeing the entire vineyard calendar presented with some beautiful imagery, please give them a follow.

Photo taken from Domaine Des Tourelles winery itself

The Wines

Domaine Des Tourelles White Blend

I have lost track of how many bottles of this wine I have drunk. It is just so versatile for food pairing that it is an almost no brainer for me to grab off the shelf. Gentle handling of the grapes and full vinification in stainless steel means that all the focus is on the grapes themselves. The varieties in the blend are always the same no matter the vintage, though the percentages do vary from vintage to vintage. The current proportions in this wine are 65% Viognier, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Obeidi and 5% Muscat d’Alexandria.

The flavours of viognier are the most prominent with pineapple, some apricot, also showing some subtle lichi. The chardonnay is giving backbone to the wine, elevating the acidity and providing a minerality that makes this so versatile for food. The native Obeidi grape and the Muscat provide jasmine scented florality and some spice to the blend with the Obeidi also giving a distinct steeliness to the wine. This white is fantastic with all manner of Mediterranean cuisine such as grilled fish with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, tabbouleh & hummus but it also has the body to stand up to roasted Mediterranean veggies too.

Domaine Des Tourelles White Blend

Domaine Des Tourelles Rose

This gastronomic rose, blends two staples of the vineyards of Provence with Spain’s darling varietal, Tempranillo. The wine is produced in the Saignee, (bleeding), method, a winemaking technique where a portion of pink juice is removed (bled) from a tank of crushed red grapes after a short maceration (usually a few hours to 24 hours).

40% Cinsault, 30% Syrah and 30% Tempranillo made it into this current vintage resulting in a fragrant rosé with a fuller body than your standard Provence offering. With ripe, luscious strawberries and a stoney mineral texture, this is delicious just to drink by itself but like many deeper flavoured Spanish rosés, really comes alive with food. Try it with some oily fish such as salmon or trout spiced up with some Aleppo pepper and sumac. One of roses greatest strengths is in its ability to pair with a wide range of foods, this would be worth trying with some skewered lamb, served pink on flat breads.

Domaine Des Tourelles Rose

Domaine Des Tourelles Red Blend

The Rhône valley meets Bordeaux in this beauty. Whilst all the Tourelles wines feature in my standard rotation of bottles throughout the year, it is this one that I have drank the most of. The red blend is produced from some of Tourelles youngest vines, 15-20 years old.

40% Cabernet Sauvignon represents Bordeaux in this blend with 40% Syrah, 15% Cinsault and 5% Carignan representing the Rhône. 16 months aging in concrete tanks means there is no oak to mask the beauty of the fruit which offers up enticing notes of brambles, morello cherries and spice rack notes of dried rosemary, oregano and cloves.

I recommend this wine to people to pair with all manner of dishes. Sausage and mash, yep. Rich stews, yep yep. Lamb tagines, yep yep yep! Red wine and meat are always a classic pairing but if you are veggie or just limiting your meat intake, try this with a chickpea and harissa stew.

Domaine Des Tourelles Red Blend

Domaine Des Tourelles Cinsault Vieilles Vignes

Vieilles Vignes means old vine. These certainly are some old vines, planted close to 80 years ago. Cinsault is an often-maligned grape, often seen as a “workhorse” varietal. Cinsault produces lighter wines which, when using grapes from younger wines can be quite simple in character. Due to the age of the vines here, the resultant wine is more characterful than any other Cinsault I have come across. Again, fruit purity is the aim of this wine, with all aging taking place in concrete, this wine shows an exotic mix of ripe fig, bright red cherry and plum fruit backed up with star anise, this is a long way from bland!

You can think of this wine as being in the realms of a Mediterranean equivalent to Pinot Noir, drink with duck served pink, a chicken shawarma or chill it down a little and drink it with a fresh tuna steak.

Domaine Des Tourelles Cinsault Vieilles Vignes

Domaine des Tourelles Marquis des Beys Red

Out of stock for the time being, I am desperate to get this wine back in!

The Marquis Des Beys shows what Domaine Des Tourelles can do with some oak. 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah make it into this cuvee with the wine then aged for 18 months in French oak barrels (1/3 new, 1/3 first use, 1/3 second use).

This wine is straying into treat wine budget so is best drunk on a special occasion or as an accompaniment to a feast. I have tried and tested this with a lamb Kleftiko and it was sublime, sticking on a Greek food theme, I would imagine this would also be great with a moussaka or indeed anything aubergine related.