2017 Chateau Musar Half Bottle 375ml, Bekaa Valley Lebanon

Half Bottle 375ml

An equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan

Each varietal was fermented with natural yeasts in concrete vats, then aged for 12 months in French Nevers oak barrels before blending in early 2020 and bottled without fining or filtration during the summer months. Fermentation proceeded smoothly and temperatures ranged between 27 and 30 degrees. All the wines proved very aromatic and in particular the last Cabernet Sauvignon picked, showed for the first time, aromas and taste of exotic fruits and even guava. Malolactic fermentation finished by 1st November and preliminary tastings showed that 2017 is a different year with more      structure and power, reminding us of,2007, 1997 and 1987 vintages, as if it was a decade style. 

Producer tasting notes:

Our 2017 vintage looks to be very promising indeed, the wines of this year are unique, yet retaining classical Chateau Musar character. Three factors come to our minds, the similarity in style of the different decades ending in 7, the taste of the last vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon harvested and powerful aromas. It has a bright ruby colour and there are sweet red cherries, mulberries and plums on the nose with a hint of tea tree and liquorice. The tannins are soft and well-integrated and this vintage has good acidity, depth of fruit and a long finish. Cellared well, it will age beautifully for decades.

Chateau Musar

Château Musar is one of the world’s most singular and storied wines, a cult classic born in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and shaped as much by history as by terroir. Founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar after travels through Bordeaux, Musar truly found its voice under his son Serge Hochar, the legendary winemaker who guided the estate through decades of war, political upheaval and isolation. Serge believed great wine was an expression of place and time, not control, and his instinctive, non interventionist approach became Musar’s signature long before it was fashionable. Harvests often continued amid conflict, with grapes transported through checkpoints and shellfire, reinforcing Musar’s near mythical status.

The vineyards lie at altitude in the Bekaa Valley, around one thousand metres above sea level, where hot days are tempered by cool nights and mountain air. Ancient gravel, limestone and clay soils provide excellent drainage and mineral depth. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan form the backbone of the red wine, each variety fermented separately using wild yeasts and aged patiently in French oak before long bottle ageing at the château. Releases are deliberately late, allowing the wine to develop its complex, evolving personality before reaching the world.

The aromatics are famously mercurial and endlessly fascinating. Dried cherry, plum and fig mingle with wild herbs, leather and sweet spice. Notes of earth, tobacco, sandalwood and a distinctly savoury, almost gamey character emerge with air. Over time in the glass, Musar can reveal everything from rose petal and orange peel to balsamic, cedar and truffle, changing shape constantly and refusing to sit still.

On the palate, Musar is both structured and strangely ethereal. Red and dark fruits intertwine with savoury notes of dried herbs, spice, forest floor and mineral earth. Tannins are firm but resolved, acidity bright and alive, giving the wine remarkable freshness even with age. The finish is long, layered and unpredictable, often leaving echoes of spice, leather and fruit long after the glass is empty. Musar is never about polish or uniformity, each vintage tells its own story, and cellaring transforms the wine dramatically over decades. Twenty years is merely the beginning for strong vintages, with the greatest bottles ageing gracefully for forty years or more.

At the table, Château Musar is wonderfully versatile. It shines with slow cooked lamb, Middle Eastern spiced dishes, game, mushrooms, aged cheeses or simply food that allows conversation to slow and attention to linger. More than a wine, Musar is an experience, a living chronicle of place, resilience and belief in tradition.