Ben says
★ Good Wine “The age on this wine is barely apparent, bar the dried melon notes and well-integrated spice that join an otherwise vibrant and fresh palate. It’s a great example of Obeidi’s long life. Grapefruit, bittersweet honey and yellow orchard fruits round out the middling finish. A good example of the variety.“
KEY POINTS
Varietal Obeidi with 13.0% abv. Fermentation is in a mix of stainless steel and concrete tanks for 12 days before the wine is lightly filtered and matured for 15 months’ ageing in French oak (used).
Grown in: Bekaa Valley, LEBANON.
Food Pairing
Domaine Wardy suggests Moghrabieh is the perfect pairing, which I admit I had to Google, which appears to be a buttery mix of chicken, chickpeas, pearl onions, and spice (some recipes feature carrots). You could easily do a veggie version too, replacing the stock with veggie stock and serving it with chunks of fresh bread. A similar pairing would be a slow-cooked pearl barley risotto where you add spice and a squeeze of lemon.
Disclosure & Price
Tasted during the Walker & Wodehouse portfolio tasting. Find in the UK for circa £26.00 at Lebanese Fine Wines.
Reviewed and tasted: 20/02/2024
About the Producer
Domaine Wardy was established in 1997 and is currently owned by the fourth generation of the Wardy family. The family can trace their winemaking history back to Rachid Cortas, who established a winery in Zahlé in 1881. Previous generations Toufiq Wardy and Habib Cortas went on in the 1930 set up a new wine and arak company in Aleppo, before the family returned to Zahlé when George Wardy moved there from Australia, marrying Marleine Cortas, and started to produce wines under his namesake Domaine Wardy brand in 1996. Today the wines are made for the Wardys by the winemaking consultant Jean-Baptiste Soula.
