Description

PRODUCER:
Passion and heritage have 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:
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.”

WINEMAKING:
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.

VINTAGE:
2024 was a challenging vintage in the Bekaa Valley. However, as the grapes for this wine are grown at high altitude, the long hang time meant the grapes reached excellent maturation by late September and showed wonderful balance when they were picked.

TASTING NOTE:
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.

GRAPES:
Merwah 100%.

AWARDS:
• 16 Points, Jancis Robinson MW, 2025