Domaine des Tourelles

On Saturday, May 19, Damas will be welcoming Lebanese winemaker Faouzi Issa from Domaine des Tourelles.

While Faouzi is a young winemaker, the domaine has been producing wine since 1868 – it’s as old as Canada!

Francois-Eugene Brun, a French engineer, founded the winery in the Bekaa Valley, in the town of Chtaura in the 1860s. It remained in the family until 1999 when Pierre L. Brun died. Faouzi’s father was a close friend of the Brun’s, and purchased the vineyard and caves soon after.

If you recognize the name Brun, this is because the vineyard has long distilled it’s own wine into the famous ARAK BRUN, a delicious and celebrated Arak.

Arak Brun is special because the domain uses only its own grapes, especially the indigenous Obeideh varietal, for the spirit. He has also begun farming aniseed specifically for his own Arak. The Arak is three times distilled in traditional copper alembics that preserve the complexity of the base mash rather than masking it as an industrial column still does. The Arak is aged in clay amphora for at least 12 months in a 100 year old cellar before bottling.

While the Arak is legendary and the best of its kind, it is the wine being produced by Faouzi Issa that is most exciting for us today. Faouzi earned a degree from the American University of Beirut before heading to France for a Masters in Winemaking in Montpellier and stages at two legendary French domaines: Réné Rostaing in the Northern Rhône and Château Margaux in Bordeaux. He then returned to Lebanon and took over the wine program at Tourelles from the Europeans his father had hired.

Only a decade in, Faouzi has already proven himself to be the visionary of Lebanese wine. Organic viticulture is assumed: due to the heat and soils of the Bekaa Valley, pesticides and herbicides are not necessary to begin with. But he goes further than simply farming organically: he is working with very little intervention in order to best exemplify the Bekaa’s unique terroir.

The basic red and white cuvées are far from basic: fermented with indigenous yeasts and without oak influence, their aromatics are unique and pure. The white is housed in stainless steel. Mostly Viognier with Chardonnay and the Mediterranean varietals Muscat d’Alexandrie (aka Zibibbo) and Obeideh (Lebanon’s own varietal), the wine shows honeyed pineapple, jasmine, and not is not as light as it might first seem. A nice weight on the palate while remaining fresh and crisp. Low acidity but with a slightly bitter finish that recalls Rhône whites.

The red ferments spontaneously in century old concrete vats and continues to age there.While certainly showing the classic dark fruit of a Cabernet/Syrah, it also accentuates the tertiary flavours associated with those grapes: Black Olive for Cabernet Sauvignon and Black Pepper for Syrah. The tannic structure is there but without any of the heaviness associated with its heavily oaked neighbours in the Bekaa.

Now we come to the Vielles Vignes, Tourelles’ 100% old vine Cinsault release. For us, it is simply the most exciting wine out of the region today, and the most exciting move in Lebanese reds since Kefraya’s Comte M broke onto the scene in the late 90s. In fact, it heralds a third era in Lebanese wines.

The first era is that of Château Musar, which was founded by Gaston Hochar in he 1930s. His son, Serge, took over in 1959 and made stunning and unique wines until his death in 2014, blending dense Cabernet Sauvignon with the perfumed Cinsaut and spicy/mineral Carignan. His wines gained legendary status in 1979 when they were chosen as the Discovery of the Fair at à Bordeaux festival. They are always well aged, elegant, complex, mysterious, and challenging.

The second era is represented by Chateau Kefraya’s Comte M, a wine that opposes Musar on most fronts: heavily extracted, jammy, mostly new oak, and with massive tannic power. Mysterious and challenging are not appropriate adjectives. Robert Parker, the famous American wine critic, gave the 1996 vintage 91 points, and Lebanon was in the headlines again. What was exciting about Comte M was it’s ability to compete with Bordeaux, California and Australia for big, heavily oaked Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah: the Bekaa could drop a sledgehammer as well.

Here in 2018, what is exciting is precisely the opposite: Lebanon’s ability to make wine unlike any other. In some ways, Faouzi’s wines are a reaction against the Californication of Lebanese wines (and of wine in general). The goal is no longer mega concentration of dark fruit, tannin, and power. The goal is rather purity of fruit and aromatics that speaks to the terroir from which it comes. Instead of new oak, Faouzi ferments in ancient concrete and ages in used oak. Instead of industrial yeasts, Faouzi encourages the yeasts in the vineyard and the cellar, leaving a layer of dust atop the ancient concrete vats:

Dust encourages the natural yeasts that give our wines their distinctive character.”

Moreover, the wine shows the potential of Cinsault, the grape that was planted everywhere in Lebanon before being ripped up in favour of the internationally popular Bordeaux and Rhône grapes. It is as close as Lebanon has to an indigenous red grape.

Sure enough, the wine is unlike any other, and even recalls flavours well known in the regional cuisine: pomegranate juice, hibiscus, and sumac, along with other warm baking spices, morel cherries, and a nice bitter herbal spice component that cuts the ripe fruit.

Faouzi recognizes his place in the line of Lebanese winemakers:

I’m not modest; I’m known as the next Serge Hochar. I’m the youngest wine producer and yet I’m the president of the technical committee of the wineries association.’

Despite its high alcohol, the wine is quaffable, racy, balanced, and full of everything we love. في صحتك!!!

Veneto, Amphora 2015, Castello di Lispida

Région: Veneto

Grape: Ribolla 70%, Friulano 30%

Vinification: Organic farming. Fermented 6 months on skins in buried terra cotta amphore. Georgian style.

Tasting: Lovely, elegant nose of tangerine, lemon peel, florals, and mineral. Palate follows the fruit. Big body, waxy texture leading to an elegant but not overbearing tannic grip. Quite dry but not aggressive. Nice!

Mezcals and Tequilas

Mezcal Production

Mezcal is a spirit from Mexico, distilled from the juices of the Agave plant. Tequila is a form of Mezcal, made with 100% blue agave from the Jalisco region of Mexico.

Agave is baked/steamed, mashed and fermented, to form a base wort (kind of an agave beer) at about 5-7% abv. It is then distilled at least twice to produce a base silver spirit.

White or silver (blanco o plata) mezcal and tequila is bottled straight out of the still, while oro, reposado, and anejo are aged in oak barrels of at least 200L.

Tequila

: Jalisco, home of Tequila.

Tequila is a form of Mezcal, which must be from the state of Jalisco, and be from at least 51% of the Blue Agave varietal.

Premium bottles will be marked ‘100% agave azul’ or ‘100% blue agave.’ If a bottle is not, it is a mixto tequila, 51% + blue agave and other sugars.

4 Varieties of Tequila

Blanco (white) or plata (silver): white spirit, unaged and bottled or stored immediately after distillation, or aged less than two months in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels.
Reposado (rested): aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels of any size.
Añejo (aged): aged a minimum of one year, but less than three years in small oak barrels.
Extra Añejo (extra aged): aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels.

Tequila at Damas

Espolon Blanco:

100% Blue Weber Agave.
Slow Cooked 22hrs in stainless steel. 72hr fermentation for 5-7% wort.

Pot still and column still.

Tasting: Smooth, light citrus and earthy agave. Less sweet and buttery than patron silver, more crisp, earthy, and vegetal

Patrón Silver:

The infamous Patrón Silver.

Fresh citrus fruit and a very obvious buttery caramel sweet finish. Buttery caramel on the nose also.

Industrial, despite itself: hard distillation for maximum purity and smoothness, with minimum complexity.

It’s fine but at 80 a bottle probably overpriced. Nevertheless people love it and it is a VERY easy upsell for an expensive margarita. Or shots.

La Serpiente Emplumada is a great artisanal distillery.

They slow down both the cooking, fermenting, and distillation process.

The agave is cooked in brick ovens 36-54 hours. This slow cooking retains the natural flavours of the agave without rapid, destructive caramelization.

It is also slow fermented, and pot distilled.

The result of this slow artisanal process is that the fresh fruit character of the agave is retained.

The Anejo is 13 months in American oak.

Tasting: Fresh and dried fruits at once: plum and peach. Peppery honey/jasmine with orange peel, ginger, and cinnamom.

The Extra Anejo is 36 months in American oak.

Tasting: Earthy nose. Wow. Turned topsoil. Lots of nutmeg. Fresh cut wood. Candied peach and candied ginger. Hint of dusty cacao powder. Spicy, peppery, with remarkable freshness also. Smoky, long finish.

Mezcal

The laws surrounding Mezcal are slightly less stringent than those surrounding tequila. Not only Blue Agave, but all varietals of Agave are permitted in the production of Mezcal.

Besides Agave varietal and region, Mezcal differs from tequila by its trademark smokiness. It is the Islay to Tequila’s Speyside, for you Scotch connoisseurs.

Production is permitted in a variety of regions, but centers around the region of Oaxaca, south of Jalisco where Oaxaca is produced.

Image result for oaxaca mezcal map — Jalisco = Tequila, Oaxaca = Patron

Traditional Method:

The oven is a stone lined, earthen pit. A fire of black oak is lit in the pit, which heats up the stones. When the fire goes out and the stones are hot, the agave is piled in the pit and buried. After three days the smoky maguey (agave heart) is ready. Wild yeast fermentation! Copper pot still double distillation.

Mezcal at Damas

Fidencio Clasico Fidencio Joven

100% Agave Espadín. Organic and Biodynamic!

Tasting: The nose is earthy and rustic with such notes as wet soil, lemon and black pepper. The taste is constant; bright with lime, cinnamon, moderate smoke.

Espadín: The most common agave, it accounts for some 90% of mezcal production. So, you can expect it to be versatile, tasting very different from one brand to another, depending on the hand of the producer or mezcalero. If it seems familiar when you taste it, that’s because it’s the genetic grandfather of blue agave, which is used for tequila.

Yuu Baal Espadin

100% Espadin like Fidencio.

Also traditional method fermentation and distillation.

Less intense smoke than the Fidencio. Minty, herbal notes dominate along with orange peel and dried fruits like peaches and apricot.

Yuu Baal Tobala

This 100% Tobala agave.

Tobala: Deemed the “king of mezcals,” this rare variety is mostly harvested from the wild. It likes rocky, shady soil at high altitude and does not produce offspring like other agaves so it relies on birds and bats to spread its seeds through pollination. Mezcal made from tobalá tends to be fruity and complex… and usually pretty pricey.
1 Espadin Agave Heart (Maguey) equals 8 Tobala, so this is rare and in short supply.

Tasting: Under a nice ashy smoke, there are apples and peaches, along with sweet tones and flavors of lemongrass and herbs. There is a distinguished smell of wild flowers, smoked wood, stone, vanilla, clove, peach and apples.

Yuu Baal Tepeztate

100% Tepeztate Agave.

Tepeztate: Also harvested wild, this agave can take up to 30 years to reach maturity, so don’t expect any sort of regular supply of it. It’s made when it can be. The plants are easy to recognize once they’ve flowered thanks to bright canary yellow blooms at the top of their tall stem or quijote. The mezcal resulting from this agave is intensely flavored, bringing to mind cologne.

Tasting: Sweet herbal notes of wild plants and cooked flowers. Grappa-like qualities with a notes of grape skin, pepper, and wood smoke. Hot spice, orange peel, and elusive floral notes.

Gin

Gin is a naturally flavoured neutral spirit. That is, the spirit begins as a largely flavorless distillation of grain (basically vodka) before being infused with a variety of botanicals and fruit.

The main ingredient, found in all gins, is the juniper berry. In fact, the word gin comes from the French genièvre and the Dutch genever.

Juniper gives gin its classic piney or resiney character (sapin de noël).

Dried juniper berries

The most common form of gin is London Dry, a category that includes Tanqueray, Bombay, and most standard bar gins.

London Dry is a somewhat enigmatic category, but generally includes gins that focus on juniper as the primary character, have little residual sugar, and are relatively light in alcohol and flavour.

To take a simple example, Hendricks is not a london dry, since it focuses on cucumber rather than juniper.

Gin at Damas

Nota Bene:

Before gin tonic terrace season, we will be expanding our Quebec gin selection. Presently we have Ungava, Romeo, and Barr Hill. We will probably be adding St. Laurent, Piger Henricus, and Canopée.

For now, here is our selection:

Tanqueray:

London Dry. Made in Britain. This is our well gin, and the gin used for the Aleppo Gin Sour cocktail.

This is a simple, classic gin, good with lemon or lime and tonic. Only 4 botanicals. Juniper heavy.

Bombay

London Dry. Made in Britain. Staff favorite 😉.

Bombay is more complex than Tanqueray (more complex does not necessarily mean better) and less on the piney Juniper. It contains almonds, a variety of roots, bark, and licorice.

Named for Bombay as the destination of ships sailing for the West Indies. Not from India. Colonialism.

Hendricks

Hendricks is not London Dry. It’s from Scotland. It famously is infused with cucumber and rose petal in addition to juniper, coriander and citrus. Garnish with cucumber.

Tanqueray 10

Tanqueray’s big brother. No longer london dry. Flashier. MAJOR lemon lime citrus. Nice fruity martini withba twist or tonic w lime.

St. George Terroir

Amazing distillery in California. Made to resemble Oregon forests and it works. WOW. Smells like a conifer forest after spring rain: sweet pine and spruce. Takes juniper and goes wild. Beautiful. Maybe lime but doesn’t need a garnish.