We were having a grand time at a fund raiser at Our Lady of Redemption Melkite Catholic Church, sponsored by The Fine Wine Source of Livonia, Michigan.  And my Bride was having a grand old time.

We were still at the Ixsir Winery Table, and the name Ixsir derives from the Arabic work for Elixir, a word common to many languages; that secret potion that grants eternal youth and love.  Some background information is that Ixsir 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 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.  A Seventeenth Century traditional Lebanese house presides over a contemporary winery with sustainability at its core; and they have been recognized many times for their “green credentials.”  The winery grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tempranillo, Caladoc, Cinsault, Merlot, Obeidy, Viognier, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon.  Quite impressive for a young company, as far as I am concerned.

We then proceeded to taste Ixsir Winery El Ixsir White Batroun, Lebanon 2024. 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, well-balanced dry white wine, first offering tones of Chardonnay’s white fruits and spices, and then opening up with the passion fruit and peaches, followed by spices and minerality blending with crisp acidity of the Viognier and a nice long-count finish of fruit and 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 left the white wines and the Ixsir Winery Grande Reserve Rosé Batroun, Lebanon 2024.  The 2020 vintage was selected as the best Rosé by the Robb Report.  The wine is a blend of forty percent Mourvèdre, forty percent Cinsault and twenty percent Syrah and was created in Stainless Steel tanks with almost no aging time to create a fresh and lively wine.  A soft salmon-pink colored wine that offered notes of white peaches and white florals.  On the palate this medium-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of white peaches, followed by pomegranate blending with some nice acidity to end with a crisp medium-count finish of fruit and terroir.