In Syria, a country devastated by war, Bargylus is a small miracle of gourmet excellence.

Gourmet... Exquisite... Perfectly smooth... Let's be honest, this Bargylus red 2016 is a magnificent hit on taste buds. A Syrian wine, produced to the east of the seaside city of Latakia, its nose is both fine and delicate. Its harmonious ensemble reveals aromas of mint, rhubarb and wild berries. It's unusual to describe a red wine as mineral. But this one has a rare palate: with your eyes closed, you can almost feel the earth's wet humus, with stony tastes. Sensual yet perfectly structured, the 2016 vintage also boasts silky tannins that blend with tobacco and white pepper flavors on the palate.

This small miracle is the work of the Saadé brothers and their advisor, Frenchman Stéphane Derenoncourt. These Lebanese-Syrians revived the country's winemaking past in 2003, by planting their first vines in this fertile land with a climate tempered by its proximity to the sea. It was a crazy gamble, and since then they've endured it all: war, the Islamic State on their doorstep, and even, more recently, the terrible earthquake that destroyed part of their infrastructure. But the two brothers have held firm, and each year offer us an exceptional wine that inevitably makes you go through the whole bottle.