Who makes it
Sébastien Khoury trained on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, in Saint-Emilion, where limestone and clay under Cabernet Franc is not an experiment but a centuries-old proof. He came back to Lebanon in 2006 and did not look for land on the flat Bekaa floor. He went up the western slopes of Mount Lebanon to 1,200 metres, where the soils are limestone and clay, and planted there.
The estate is organically certified and operates without fining or filtration. Whole cluster fermentation with wild yeasts is practised. Total sulphur dioxide stays below 50 mg/l. These are not marketing commitments; they shape what reaches the bottle. The wines are unfiltered, low-sulphur, and carry whatever the fruit and the fermentation produce without correction.
Where it grows
The Bekaa Valley runs north to south between two mountain ranges, the Lebanon range to the west and the Anti-Lebanon to the east. Most Bekaa estates plant on the valley floor or the lower eastern slopes. Domaine de Baal sits on the western face, on Mount Lebanon's slopes, at 1,200 metres above sea level. That elevation puts it several hundred metres above the valley's main wine zone.
Altitude changes the growing season. Nights are cooler, the diurnal range between day heat and night cold is wider, and the growing season extends longer than it would lower down. That length and that cool carry directly into the grapes: acids hold, ripening is gradual, and the fruit arrives at harvest without the overripe, baked character that the valley floor can produce in hot years. Limestone and clay in the soil add to the picture. They drain well, retain some moisture, and give the roots something to push against.
How it is made
The cellar
The vineyards are farmed organically, certified, without synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilisers. The altitude and exposure reduce disease pressure and make dry-farming possible through Lebanon's arid summers.
In the cellar, whole cluster fermentation means the stems stay in with the grapes. Stems add tannin with a different texture to grape-skin tannin: often more angular at first, more resolved with time. They also preserve freshness and can contribute a herbal edge, particularly in Cabernet Franc, where that edge is already part of the variety's natural character. Wild yeast fermentation, without cultured inoculation, means the fermentation follows the natural yeast population of the vineyard rather than a selected commercial strain. The pace is less predictable and usually slower.
What they make
The range has two documented reds.
Domaine de Baal Rouge is the flagship: 40% Cabernet Franc, 40% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, with long barrel ageing before release. The equal portions of Franc and Syrah pull in different directions. Franc brings a leafy, graphite edge, firmer mid-palate grip, and a more herbal lift. Syrah adds darker fruit, pepper, and a smokier, denser body. The Cabernet Sauvignon at 20% adds cassis depth and tannin. Long barrel ageing rounds the tannin grain, but without fining or filtration, the wine holds significant texture. It is built to develop in the bottle, not to be opened young.