Chateau Musar 2018

The Hochar family’s philosophy of respect for the environment means that the 220 hectares of Musar vineyards are managed with minimal human interference and all the wines are made with minimal intervention.

Chateau Musar was the first producer in Lebanon to achieve organic certification for its own vineyards in 2006. Most are located in the Bekaa Valley, cradled between two mountain ranges running parallel to Lebanon’s Mediterranean coastline. Vines have been cultivated here for at least 6,000 years: the Phoenicians (seafaring ancestors of the modern Lebanese) were instrumental in bringing vines and wines from Byblos across to all of the areas around the Mediterranean.

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.

In the winery, ambient yeasts do the work of fermentation. The bare minimum of sulphur is used and the Chateau Musar Red wines are neither fined nor filtered.

Seven years in the making, Chateau Musar Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from vineyards near the Bekaa Valley villages of Aana and Kefraya on gravelly soils over limestone. Planted from the 1930s onwards, yields are low from these mature bushvines (average age: 40 years): Between 15 to 35hl per hectare.

The varietal components in Chateau Musar Red undergo lengthy fermentations in cement vats at temperatures below 30°C. 6 months after the harvest they are transferred into French barrels (oak from the forest of Nevers) for one year.

The varietal components are brought together two years after the harvest; the resulting blend is then placed back in cement tanks before being bottled 12 months later. Each wine is blended to reflect the character of the vintage. After 4 years’ bottle maturation in the deep stone cellars of Chateau Musar, the finished wines are released a full seven years after the harvest.

Bottled unfined and unfiltered, Chateau Musar Reds are suitable for vegans; they’re also richly-textured and likely to ‘throw a crust’. This is a common feature of most fine wines and is especially true of Musar Red vintages over a decade old. Ideally, bottles should be standing up the night before opening to allow the sediment to settle. After careful decanting (and discarding of sediment, usually in the last centimetre of the bottle) the wine should be allowed to breathe for an hour and served at 18°C.

"Fresh and dried cherries, just-picked raspberries, figs and juicy dates headline this impeccably balanced, garnet-hued blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Drink it now or in several years; either way, you'll be glad you did." - 95 Points, Wine Enthusiast

Producer: Chateau Musar

Country: Lebanon

Region: Bekaa Valley

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan

Appellation: Bekaa Valley

Vintage: 2018

Size: 750ml