For a while now, the idea of reviewing wines has been a project the TB blog. We even have notes about some wines waiting in an excel form, to be transformed to a post or a full review.
Today though I decided to have some wine; we received a small bottle of local wine as a gift for Christmas and it seemed like a great idea to sip with some roasted chestnuts.
I am not a professional wine reviewer, I would not en pretend to be, but I can honestly say that I am a wine amateur and I will just reveal my opinion and personal taste. It is by no means an expert’s or a connoisseur’s, but your average person sharing her wine experience with our readers.
Now back to the wine that got me down to write the review. I am going to start by listing the name and vintage (aka the year),the country of origin, then make comments about the color and the nose (smell) and last but not least the palate (taste). I am going to use a rating of a maximum of five stars, but this is just my standard not any international one. I will try to include suggestions, price and any additional info I think is worth sharing.
Technical Sheet:
Wine: Les Bretèches du Château Kefraya
Type: red
Vintage: 2006
Country: Lebanon – Bekaa Valley
Composition or Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo, Carignan and Grenache
Color: Deep red with hints of terracotta
Nose: Woodsy with fruity undertones
Palate: Full bodied wine, dry yet smooth, apparent taste of berries and figs. Fruity aftertaste with a hint of honey
Rating: 4 stars
Price: Under 15$
I would love to list a specific price but since this was a gift, it is hard for me to do. Although a couple of sites list the price around 13$, I think this wine would cost less in Lebanon.
Suggestions: This wine thus five years old is on the lighter side and would be perfect for any kind of meat, red or white and even with oily fish like salmon. I would not recommend it for heavy or gamey dishes or very light dishes, because the first will overwhelm the taste; the second will be bad as a complement as it will not match the body. It would be possible to match it with some spicy vegetarian dishes due to its fruitiness.
This wine is even good to sip on its own, since the fruity tones make it agreeable; it also was a great accompaniment for the chestnuts. Its age has served to cut its acid edge and make it smooth.
I would highly recommend Les Bretèches du Château Kefraya despite that it leaves the mouth a little dry after a short while, which caused it to be rated four stars instead of the full five.
The Taste-Buds 
I love how Lebanon has some GREAT wines for less than $15 a bottle. Here in the Napa Valley I find most of this quality will be over $30 a bottle. From your description, the dry mouth at the end sounds worth it! 🙂 Perhaps it needs to be paired with a dish that contains olive oil, cheese, or meats? Oh this would be great with mezze! Thanks for sharing this Viviane!
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There are some great wines in Napa that were under 30$, but in comparison to Lebanon I agree they are way more expensive. I suppose it is all related to the pay of the staff. Wages are way less in Lebanon. As for pairing, I am not sure if it will affect the dry mouth effect but it is worth the try. Actually the description of the wine on the site states that it would be good with mezze, so there you go 🙂
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