2024 Chateau Belle-Vue Petit Geste Mount Sauv Blanc Viognier Lebanon 6pk 6x750ml

Chateau Belle-Vue sits in a hidden valley overlooking the Mediterranean, carved into the terraced mountainside of Mount Lebanon. After the war left the vineyards in ruins, Naji—a native son—returned from London with his partner Jill and their four children. In April 2000, they planted their first vines beside stone walls built by their ancestors. Seventeen years later, terrace by terrace, the mountain was called back to life with noble varieties.

Petit Geste—"small gesture"—takes its name from that first harvest of just 350 bottles. Today it's grown to 200 cases a year, a Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier blend from 60 terraced acres that yield only 25,000 bottles total. Diana Salame works with deep respect for natural yeasts; Khaled Tabet, a third-generation farmer, pours decades of expertise into every bottle. The work is deliberate: destemmed fruit, static clarification in stainless, natural fermentation at 14–16°C over two to three weeks, then the varieties are stored separately and blended only when they're clean and finished.

The wine shows warm yellow with golden hues, clear and bright. The nose is elegant—anise and jammy apricot. The palate is silky: grapefruit pith, mild guava, sweet rhubarb jam, and a whisper of sea salt in the finish. It's at optimum drinking now but will mature favorably for five to seven years. Drink it well chilled, 6–8°C, with white meat or summer vegetables.

This is a fabulously fresh, fruity white from a winery built to ensure the land, its history, and its identity would endure. The terroir shines—raw, expressive, undeniably alive.