OTHER IMPORTS

Owned by Jill and Naji Boutros, Château Belle-Vue is a dynamic operation. It’s a small one (even by Lebanese standards), comprising just 24 hectares in plots scattered about Bhamdoun in the Mount Lebanon range. The grapes are organically farmed and the vineyards are at elevations ranging from 3,116 to 4101 feet. The 2011 Le Chateau is composed of 40% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Syrah. It is a rich, full-bodied yet elegant red ready to drink now.

The 2006 Chateau Musar is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault sourced from vineyards located in the Bekaa Valley. The vines are planted on gravelly soils over limestone. The average age of the organically farmed vines is 40-years-old. This unfiltered and unfined red displays nice fruit, an elegant mid-palate, and a persistent finish.

Moreno Coronica, whose family has lived in the area for 600 years, founded his winery in 1992 after the fall of communist Yugoslavia. Located about an hour's drive south of Trieste, Italy, Moreno has 75 acres of vineyards planted in "Terra Rossa" soil. He is well known for his crisp dry white made from Malvasia Istarka. This delicious white was fermented and aged in stainless steel. On the nose you find aromas of citrus and sea shells; in the mouth the wine is elegant, flavorful and deliciously dry.

Moreno Coronica's Dry Malvasia Istarska is considered a bench mark example of this indigenous variety. This is an unbeatable white with fresh grilled shellfish doused in Istrian olive oil. Enjoyed over the course of a few days it blossoms, becoming fuller, softer and more candied aromatically.

The Crnko farm is located on the eastern side of Slovenia, north of Maribor and just south of the Austrian border. All the fruit is estate grown and comes from the family's 6 hectares of mixed white varietals. The vines are planted in the region's unique marl soils and sustainably farmed. This charming white is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Ravenec (Muller-Thurgau), Laski Riesling (Welschriesling). It has only 11% alcohol and is as drinkable and refreshing as wine comes. Riesling dominates the aromatics offering juicy tangerine and quince notes to the silty minerality that Crnko wines often share. As a beverage it is thirst quenching and light on its feet with invigorating acidity that makes it difficult to set down. During the summers in the village of Jarenina, locals mix it with sparkling water and then proceed to consume it long into the night.

WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "El Ixsir (Elixir) is the top wine produced by the Ixsir winery located just outside Batroun, Lebanon. The excellent 2012 is composed of 55% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot aged 24 months in French oak (50% new). On the nose you find aromas of blackberries, black cherries, red fruits and a hint of woody spice. On the palate silky, lush fruit flavors are balanced with good structure and a long finish. Drinking very well now if decanted, the 2012 will benefit from another year or two in the bottle. The Wine Advocate gave this 92 points praising its Cote Rotie-like style."

This pleasant, clean, fruity yet crisp Pinot Grigio comes to us from father and son team Edi and Aleks Simcic (SEEM chitch) in the Primorska region of Slovenia, just a stone's throw from Italy's Friulian border and the Colli Orientali. Green apples on the nose; good fruit in the mouth balanced by good acidity on the finish. Great value!

Full-bodied and well-balanced with smooth tannins, this wine is packed with flavors of dried strawberry, raspberry licorice, and hints of wild game. Enjoy with grilled and cured meats, hard cheeses and pizza. Grgic Vina was established in 1996 by legendary Napa Valley winemaker, Croation-born Miljenko "Mike" Grgich, and his daughter, Violet. The winery is just north of the historic walled city Dubrovnik in the southern Dalmatian wine region. Mike started the winery to produce the finest wines from native Dalmatian grapes. When Mike Grgich came to the Napa Valley in 1958 to make wine, he noticed a remarkable resemblance between the Zinfandel and Plavac Mali of his native Croatia. Some 35 years later, Mike worked with scientists at University of California, Davis to prove that Zinfandel was actually Crljenak Kaštelanski, a grape native to Croatia and parent of Plavac Mali.

This old world red is composed of Areni and Sireni grown at high-elevation in the Vayots Dzor region of Armenia. The Koor has a deep, dark color and aromas of blue and black fruit. In the mouth it is rich, fruity and dry on the long finish. This is a serious, reserve level red we think you will enjoy.

This dry, flavorful white offers aromas and flavors of citrus, ripe yellow plums, apple and chamomile. Round and rich in the mouth it finishes with crisp flavors of Meyer lemon. Voskeat is an old grape variety which probably originated in Western Armenia. During the Soviet occupation it was mainly used to make fortified or sparkling wine. Today Armenian winemakers are making delicious, dry table wines from this grape.

This red, sourced from high altitude vineyards in Lebanon's Batroun district, is composed of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon; 26% Caladoc (a cross of Malbec and Grenache); 22% Syrah and 17% Tempranillo. Decanter magazine describes Ixsir's Altitudes Rouge as: "... a beautifully integrated wine made with the help of Chateau Angelus' Hubert de Bouard. Lifted cassis, capsicum, herbs and violets meld with silky tannins and fresh acidity."

The Karas red is an elegant blend of 35% Syrah; 35% Malbec; 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Tannat. Full bodied with balanced fruit, this ruby red wine has rich flavors of red and black berries leading to a long finish. The Armavir region, located at the base of Mount Ararat, is known for its higher levation climate and volcanic soil.

La Ferme Rouge was founded as a vineyard and olive orchard in 1908. The winery was started in 1933. Located in the Zaer region of Morocco, about 45 kilometers from the Atlantic ocean and at an elevation of 450 meters, the vineyards benefit from cool ocean breezes. Grapes are hand-picked, pressed gently and fermented in temperature-regulated concrete vats. This full-bodied red is a blend of Syrah and Tempranillo. Aromas of violets (and a hint of mocha) lead to black currant flavors on the palate.

The 2018 Terres Blanches from La Ferme Rouge is composed of organically farmed Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier. The nose displays aromas of acacia flowers and citrus fruits, with a touch of apricot and white peaches. This aromatic complexity quickly gives way to a lively attack on the palate leading to round, mouthfilling flavors and a dry, elegant finish.

La Ferme Rouge was founded as a vineyard and olive orchard in 1908. The winery was started in 1933. Located in the Zaer region of Morocco, about 45 kilometers from the Atlantic ocean and at an elevation of 450 meters, the vineyards benefit from cool ocean breezes. Grapes are organically farmed, hand-picked, pressed gently and fermented in temperature-regulated concrete vats. Winemaker Jaques Poulain believes in farming harmoniously with nature.

100% Saperavi from the Mukuzani appelation in the Kakheti region of the Republic of George. Dry with black cherry aromas and flavors.

Stagnum is considered by many to be the best Plavac Mali wine. This renewed wine from legendary winemaker Frano Miloš is among the best that Croatia has to offer and represent the line of our best wines from the Plavac Mali variety. Wine is produced from the highest quality grapes from old hand-crafted vineyards from the southern slopes of the Peljesac peninsula. The fermentation is spontaneous using only autochthonous yeasts, and the aging takes place in large wooden barrels of Slavonian oak. The wine is unfiltered with minimal amounts of sulfites. Specific soil, centuries-old tradition and a completely natural way of producing, places this wine within a special group of high-quality natural wines of high elegance. Stagnum is a complex wine with a distinct blend, concentration, and elegance.

In 1930, at just 20 years old, Gaston Hochar founded Chateau Musar, inspired by Lebanon's 6,000 year winemaking tradition and his travels in Bordeaux. His 'wines with noblesse' greatly impressed senior officers in the army following on from the French mandate of the 1920s. Major Ronald Barton, of Château Langoa-Barton, stationed in Lebanon during World War II became a great friend, strengthening the links between Chateau Musar and Bordeaux that remain to this day. Flanked by snow-covered mountains, and nestled at 1000m (3,000 feet) above sea level, the serenely beautiful Bekaa Valley is blessed with 300 days of sunshine a year, fresh mountain breezes and an average temperature of 25°C (encompassing snowy winters and hot summers). Remote and unspoilt, the Musar vineyards were ‘organic’ by default before the term was coined. Hochar Père et Fils Red has been described as the ‘second’ wine of Chateau Musar, and it does bear some resemblance to the ‘Grand Vin’: rich, spicy and profoundly fruity, with a mellow quality derived from lengthy oak- and bottle ageing. Since its launch in the late 1980s, it has been sourced from a single Bekaa Valley vineyard planted in the late 1940s. When young, the wines are robust and aromatic, with baked plum, warm earth, leather, thyme and dark chocolate characters. With age they become tawnier and spicier.

This amber/orange wine comes from the Telavi wine district of the Republic of Georgia. It is composed of the ancient Georgian white grape variety, Rkatsiteli, fermented and aged on the skins in traditional clay amphora (Qvevri).

Slavcek is a family winery with a two-hundred-year history in the Vipava Valley. It is currenty run by Franc Vodopivec who practices organic farming and natural winemaking. This delightful Sivi Pinot (Pinot Grigio) has a slight pink color because of 24 hours of maceration (skin contact). The wine is fermented in 50% 15-year-old oak barrels and 50% stainless steel. Only native yeasts are used and malolactic fermentation occurs spontaneously. The wine is aged in 25% old acacia barrels, 25% old oak foudres and 50% very large foudres. After clarification for a month in stainless steel it is racked and bottled unfiltered. This delicious dry white offers elegant fruit aromas and flavors balanced by crisp minerality.

Certified Organic. Red and black fruit, brambleberry, flowers, nutmeg, white pepper and spice. Rich dark chocolate notes on the tangy mid-palate. Long finish.

Classic Vranac of Petropavlovo polje with distinctive flavors of dried cranberry and pleasant notes of overdone bread. The taste is very refreshing, with particular tones of fresh berries. Acids are living, vibrant, and last to the very finish, in which a pure flavor of ripe cherry is distinguished.