Community Tasting Notes 2

• DrZett Likes this wine: 94 points

  January 29, 2020 - El Ixsir is a Syrah blend from the Lebanese Bekaa Valley wine region. The grapes for this blend are harvested from three different vineyards, all located in the northeastern mountains of Lebanon. One of theses vineyards - the Ainata plot lies 1,800 m above sea level and therefore is one of the highest vineyards in the northern hemisphere.
  The wineries name Ixsir is derived from the Arabic word for “elixir“ - Al-Ikseer.
  It was founded in 2008 by Hady Kahale, Etienne Debbane and famous ex Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn. With winemaker Gabriel Rivero (ex Château Sociando-Mallet) and consultant Hubert de Boüard (co-owner of Château Angélus) the winery has two other famous supporters. It was my first time trying this wine and afaik 2010 was the second vintage of the El Ixsir.
  Gorgeous dark red color with purple edges. Alluring ripe dark berry nose with a touch of mint in the background. Lots of ripe blackberries, dark cherries, some dark chocolate and dried herbs on the palate. Beautifully balanced with intense but not overdone fruit notes and perfectly smooth tannins. All in all this wine has a very elegant structure - classic old world style Syrah. What a beauty!
  This is easily the best Lebanese Syrah blend and one of the best ever Lebanese wines I tried. I decanted it for half an hour and it was showing amazing. Because of the wine’s structure I guess this will age gracefully over the next 10-15 years - but no need to wait.
  If you can get your hands on this vintage it’s absolutely worth a try. I’ll keep my eyes open for some younger vintages of this elixir.
  Cheers

  Comment

• Brmaso Likes this wine: 95 points

  June 15, 2015 - The 2010 'El' Ixsir is reminiscent of a Syrah dominated 19th century 'L'Ermitage' remake (a la Palmer or La Lagune) with more depth, balance, purity and cohesion. Thrilling out of the gate, this elixir spews out loads of blackberry liquer, raspberry, white pepper, dark chocolate and smoked meats in a rich, luscious texture that in no way comes across as heavy. While this cuvee has only been around for a few years I have no doubt that this will be even better at age 20 than today. This effort will no doubt turn heads and make consumers rethink the category of Lebanese wine. Kudos to Ixsir and consulting oenologist Hubert de Bouard!

  1 person found this helpful Comment

Pro Reviews 0

• No pro reviews found.

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2010
• Type Red
• Producer Ixsir
• Varietal Red Blend
• Designation El
• Vineyard n/a
• Country Lebanon
• Region Lebanon
• SubRegion n/a
• Appellation n/a
• UPC Code 5285002860448

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 34 (69%)
• Consumed 15 (31%)

Food Pairing

Who Likes This Wine

More About This Wine