Château Musar, Bekaa Valley Red 2017

Chateau Musar was founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar and is located in an 18th Century castle in Ghazir, just fifteen miles north of Beirut, in Lebanon. In 1959, after studying oenology at the University of Bordeaux, his son Serge became winemaker. The civil war that tore Lebanon apart from 1975 to 1990 did not defeat Chateau Musar; Serge refused to abandon the wine, and lost only the 1976 and 1984 vintages to the war. Owing to his inspiring determination and grand passion for his wines, Serge received the inaugural “Man of the Year Award” from Decanter magazine in 1984.

The grand vin here is this red Chateau Musar, a blend which includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Carignan.  The wine is fermented in concrete, before spending one year in vat, then a year in French oak, before going back to vat for several years.

It's enticingly aromatic with rich flavours of baked fruit and spices and is full bodied and wonderfully appealing. The 2017 is ready for drinking from now until at least 2035.

A Wine Guy Selection