I recently did a wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan featuring wines from Ixsir Winery.  The winery was founded in 2009 in the northern part of Lebanon in Batroun which is a coastal area.   They are a mountain winery, and one of the highest in elevation for the Northern Hemisphere.  The name Ixsir derives from the Arabic word “Iksir” the original Arabic word for “elixir.” History has recorded that man has searched for the perfect elixir for eternal youth and for love.  The winery is very progressive and has been named one of the greenest buildings in the world.  The winery owns one hundred-twenty hectares in the Batroun with several different vineyards capitalizing on the terroir.   Our host for the tasting was Kelleen Hubbs who is Vice President of Commercial Sales, North America for Ixsir Winery.  She is a Grand Regent and Board of Governor’s Member of the Commandries de Bordeaux, Inc, an International Sommelier and an Attorney at Law. 

We started with Ixsir Winery “EL Ixsir” White Lebanon 2018.   The fruit for this wine comes from two plots Niha and Kab Elias with lime marl, clay and limestone soils. This wine is a blend of seventy percent Viognier and thirty percent Chardonnay and was aged on the lees for twelve months in French Oak, of which a third were new.  This was an elegant deep golden colored wine that offered notes of white florals, with tropical fruits along with citrus and saffron.  A full bodied dry white, first offering tones of Chardonnay’s white fruits and spices, and then opening up with the passion fruit, peaches, crisp acidity of the Viognier and a nice long finish of terroir. A wine that would hold its own with opening courses or pairing with dinner as a stand-alone.  It offered depth and complexity, that one expects from a good white, and I have been finding that Viognier is great for cellaring as this five-year-old was totally fresh.

We then had Ixsir Winery Altitudes White Lebanon 2019.  The wine is a blend of Obaideh, Muscat and Viognier and was aged for three months in Stainless Steel.  Obaideh is a Lebanese grape that has been used in blends, now being done as a varietal and traditionally used in the production of Arak, the famed Anise liqueur of Lebanon.  Obaideh is high in sugar, low acidity with a creamy texture with notes of honey and lemons.  The fruit for this wine comes from two plots; one in Batroun and the other in Kab Elias (with both plots featuring clay and limestone soils.    A soft golden-yellow wine that offered notes of yellow plums and apricots, white florals, orange blossoms.  On the palate the Muscat grape begins with the introduction of the fruit, but then slides into the Viognier with the rich white florals, grapefruit citrus tang with spices and then the creaminess and exotic sweetness from the Obaideh.  A very fresh wine, that would be perfect to start off a meal or just nibbling on mezza.