Building a new temple for wine in the Bekaa
Sun, May 05 2009
According to ancient myth, the Phrygian satyr Marsyas challenged the god Apollo to a musical contest, judged by the Muses, and lost. The triumphant Apollo had Marsyas, a follower of the revelrous Achaean deity Dionysus, flayed for his presumption. The ancient Greeks named what is now Lebanon's Bekaa Valley after the fabled creature, and a new vineyard nestled under the Lebanon range in that same valley has resurrected the appellation.

Chateau Marsyas is the creation of the Johnny R. Saade family, principally Saade and his sons Sandro and Karim. The family has deep Levantine and mercantile roots, and they call their new venture into Lebanese winemaking a project of passion.

"The story started when our father wanted to buy a vineyard in Bordeaux and, after visiting several estates, we finally decided to do that where we live, meaning Lebanon," Sandro Saade told The Daily Star during an interview with him and his brother, Karim, co-owners of the vineyard.

But the project actually began in Syria, with Domaine de Bargylus, where plantation began in 2003. In 2004, the family bought land in the Western Bekaa, and in 2005, plantation at Chateau Marsyas began.

"We believe, besides the passion aspects, that wine has a lot of potential for the region and that we can produce high quality wine," Sandro said. "We have sun, the terroir, the quality of the soil. We have an ideal situation to be able to produce high quality wine."

Marsyas, about of 100 hectares of vineyard 900 meters above sea level, began producing wine in 2007, three years after the first planting. It launched in Beirut late this April with a lavish ceremony at the Phoenicia Intercontinental's Eau de Vie, with guests sampling the Chateau's commendable selections.

The vineyard produces a red and a white, the one a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, the other of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The renowned Bordeux-based oenologist, Stephane Derenoncourt, has consulted with the family since 2005, overseeing the vinification process after the first plantation.

For the time being Marsyas is a smaller, quality-driven vineyard, committed to winning a place in Lebanon's budding wine market and then expanding to more mature European markets - a project which the brothers called a "challenge" and an "adventure," given the strong placement of older Lebanese brands like Musar, Kefraya and Ksara. Michael Karam, author of the Wines of Lebanon, said that the vineyard was well-positioned.

"I think the Saade Group has chosen the right profile," he told The Daily Star, noting that the way forward for Lebanon's wine sector was the proliferation of boutique-style vineyards producing between 50,000 and 100,000 bottles a year.

By this rubric, Karam said, "Lebanese producers could maximize their competitive edge in a competitive global market."

Speaking of Marsyas in particular, Karam said the vineyard produced fine wine. "Their wines are of a very high standard," he said.

But the Saades have more in mind for the vineyard than just vines. They plan to have a museum and a boutique hotel on the estate; the Chateau itself - to be completed over the next two years - will borrow heavily from the architectural design of old world temples. The idea seems fitting given that the temple of Bacchus (Dionysus' Roman avatar), part of Baalbek's famous ruins, sits just north of the vineyard.

"The idea is that you, one can say, have a temple in the northern Bekaa in Baalbek and you have a temple of wine in the southern part of the valley. Maybe some people could interpret it that this way," Karim Saade said, before broadly summing up the enterprise's mission as "a temple for wine, [with] an ancient name and, of course, what is paramount quality."

But despite the addition of new vineyards like Marsyas and the Lebanese wine market's growing renown, the sector remains relatively small. Sandro estimated that there are currently between 26 and 30 vineyards in Lebanon, far fewer than in other small scale or regional markets, like Cyrpus. The expansion of Lebanese production, therefore, would only improve the domestic market and its worldwide standing, Sandro said.

Karam agreed. With the more boutique style vineyards, "I think we are going to see exports increase," he said. For Lebanon, known in equal parts for its beauty and violent past, the expansion of winemaking is a positive development, the brothers Saade asserted. It is "the best ambassador this country can ever have worldwide," Sandro said.
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