Chateau Oumsiyat Assyrtico 'Cuvée Membliarus' 2025

You normally see Assyrtiko (or Assyrtico as spelled here) from Greece and the island of Santorini in particular, so an example from Lebanon is a bit of a departure. It's a grape that retains a fresh acidity even in warmer climates, making it well suited to the Bekaa Valley's high vineyards. White peach and citrus zest lead on the nose, with a flinty, stony edge and a saline tang underneath. It's bone dry, with a lightish build and a clean, mouthwatering finish. Fittingly, in a nod to the grape's most famous home, it's named Membliarus after the Phoenician governor of Santorini in antiquity.

A seafood wine par excellence - that saline edge was made for oysters, grilled sea bass or a plate of prawns, where it cuts through and sharpens every bite.

Chateau Oumsiyat is a family-run estate in Mtein, high in the Bekaa Valley, where the Bou Sleiman family have been making wine since 1950. Now in its fourth generation, the estate farms nearly 80 hectares of vines planted at over 1,000 metres in elevation, growing long-established Lebanese varieties such as Obeidy, Merwah and Meksassi alongside international names like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and even the odd unexpected one like Assyrtiko. The political situation in Lebanon has given its wine industry a difficult run in recent years, but Oumsiyat is among a handful of estates successfully making headway nonetheless.