Domaine de Bargylus White

Description

The Bargylus estate is precisely located near Deir Touma, literally translated as the ‘Convent of Thomas’, not far from the archaeological vestiges of the crusading era and the illustrious Saladin.   Cited by Pliny the Elder, Mount-Bargylus, known today as Jebel Al-Ansariye, spreads from the Orontes Valley near the ancient city of Antioch to the Eleutherus Valley in the south of ancient Emesa. Located in the hinterland of the modern Syrian city of Latakia and the Canaanite metropolis of Ugarit, the slopes of Mount-Bargylus were richly covered with vines during the Greco-roman era.

The Domaine was launched in 2003 by the Saade Family (with Brothers Karim & Sandro leading the team), a Lebanese family which originally comes from the Province (with their land confiscated in 1960 before they moved out of the Country).  It was the first Syrian wine ever to be exhibited at the Vinexpo wine fair in Bordeaux.  Typically Mediterranean in style, Bargylus elegantly combines strength and refinement: it has a strong color, the range of aroma is perceivable through the fresh fruit and minerality that translates the very shingly soil. The balance between sweetness, that comes with sunniness and the grapes’ full maturity, and salinity that comes with limestone, allows Bargylus to convey a strong soil identity and an inimitable taste.

Making wine in Syria is a real challenge given the lack of wine culture and infrastructure. The task became more difficult with the breaking out of the war in Syria. The Saade brothers have been unable to visit the estate since the beginning of the conflict. Beside the obvious security problems, Bargylus is also facing a logistical hassle: Harvesting is done over the phone by the two brothers. Grape samples are sent by taxi for tasting in Beirut in order to determine the harvesting dates for each parcel.  Those aspects cause the Domaine to be known as the ‘World’s most dangerous wine‘.