Chateau St Thomas Le Merlot A 2009

About the Winery:
Established in 1990 by Saïd Touma and his family on a hill overlooking the Bekaa valley, Château St Thomas estate is a vineyard spreading over sixty-five hectares with a storehouse for fermentation and ageing. On this very land of the Bekaa valley, the Romans had once created the Temple of Bacchus, a tribute to the Roman god of wine. Throughout history, this land still shows untapped potential to produce great wines. Château St Thomas is the masterpiece of Saïd Touma & his son Joe-Assaad. Saïd Touma, a man of passion, has more than 55 years of experience in the distillation & fermentation of grape juice, and inherited this knowledge from producing Arak, a Lebanese national drink. He passed on this legacy to his son Joe Assaad, an agronomist & winemaker, who followed in the family tradition with equal passion for great winemaking. The philosophy of Joe was to improve his vineyards in the production of quality wines reflecting the generosity of the exceptional Bekaa Valley Terroir while respecting the nature with a modern winemaking approach.

While Lebanon’s four seasons provide an ideal climate for grapes, the terroir of Château St Thomas’ vineyards offers excellent grape growing conditions. Located on a hill overlooking the Bekaa Valley, vineyards are parked at an altitude of over 1000m, spreading over 65 hectares on the eastern exposure of Mount Lebanon. Their cellar was dug 25m to 30m deep into the rocks where fermentation and the ageing process is conducted. The winery predominantly cultivates noble grapes varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc), while also focusing on indigenous grape varieties such as Obeidy.