Mersel Piquette, a low alcohol Lebanese fizz made the old farmhouse way by rehydrating pressed grape skins, restarted with organic honey from Mersel's own bees, apple scented, acidic and genuinely refreshing when well chilled.
Tasting Notes
Notes of apple. Acidic but refreshing when well chilled, with persistent bubbles that mean it should be opened as carefully as a Champagne. Piquette is a historic farmhouse drink rather than a wine in the strict sense, made by adding water to grape skins already pressed for wine and fermenting what sugar remains. Mersel restart the fermentation in spring with organic honey from their own bees. No sulphur added at any point.
Quick Facts
- Grapes: 40% Muscat, 30% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Merwah
- Origin: Lebanon, Deir El Ahmar in the Bekaa at 1,200m, Ainata in the Bekaa at 1,700m, and Dimane in the Qannboubine Valley at 1,600m
- Style: Piquette, lightly sparkling, low alcohol, natural, no added sulphur
- Winemaking: Pressed skins returned to concrete tank with water added, fermented 5 to 10 days, racked and settled over winter, restarted in spring with organic honey from the estate's own bees
Food Pairing
As an aperitif, with Lebanese mezze, or with shellfish.
Serving
Serve at 5 to 8°C. Open carefully, the bubbles are persistent.
About the Producer
Mersel Wine is a natural wine producer working in the Lebanese mountains, founded by winemaker Eddie Chami. The estate farms high altitude sites from Terboul at 700 metres up to Ainata in the Bekaa at 1,700 metres, working with the indigenous Merwah grape alongside international varieties, using hand picking, indigenous yeasts and minimal intervention.
