Chateau Oumsiyat Desir Bekaa Valley (6-bottle case)

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.”

2020 was an excellent vintage in the Bekaa Valley. A cold winter with high rainfall helped to build soil water reserves, which helped to nourish the vines during the hot, dry summer that followed. Pronounced temperature variations between the day and night, resulted in fruit with pleasing aromatic complexity.

The vines are planted on the slopes of Mount Lebanon at an altitude of 1,200 metres above sea level, where the warm days are tempered by cooler nights. The summer diurnal temperature difference encourages an extended ripening period; concentrating the flavours and aromatic complexity in the berries, while the fruit retains balancing acidity from the cool nights. The soil is sandstone clay, a sedimentary soil made up of sandy components rich in minerals, while the clay component has excellent water retention properties, essential for nourishing the vines throughout the hot, dry summer. 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

The fruit was carefully sorted to ensure only healthy, ripe grapes were vinified. Traditional fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperatures of 28°C, with remontage or pump overs took place periodically to oxygenate the wine and extract tannins. Pigeage or punching down of the cap also took place. A long post fermentation maceration took place to extract colour, flavour and impart structure to the wine. The wine was gently filtered prior to bottling.