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Musar
The Winery
Musar
Chateau Musar, founded in the Bekaa Valley in 1930, is easily Lebanon's most famous wine producer. Gaston Hochar set up the vineyard after traveling through Bordeaux, and today the old vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsaut, Carignan and indigenous Lebanese grapes Obaideh and Merwah. Musar's flagship red wine, made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsaut, is the most important wine made in Lebanon. It is fermented in concrete, aged for one year in French oak and then rested in the Musar cellars for at least three years before release – sometimes many more. It is famous for its great (intentional) vintage variation, and is highly collectable.
Tasting Notes
- WA91
- The 2001 CHATEAU MUSAR, bottled in 2004, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan, aged for one year in French oak. Nuanced by cherries and spice, it is quite delicious. Which wine you like better of this lineup—the 01 or 00, or even the 02 Hochar, is a matter of taste, perhaps, more than any inherent quality issue, as the styles are rather different. The ’00 is the powerhouse bruiser, the most rustic, while the Hochar is the approachable, easier wine. This is the one in the middle, arguably the best balance of fruit and power. On the downside, this is as gamey and funky as the 2000, but the balance is different, the wine seeming fruitier and fleshier, not quite as austere. Depending on your taste, you may find that a good thing, or prefer the more powerful and intellectual 2000. This is still powerful, I hasten to add, with drying notes on the finish, but the fruitiness melds beautifully with the barnyard notes, and it is nicely supported by the tannin rather than overwhelmed. As with the 2000, this should age well, although the 2000 should age longer, and this will be a wine some will love, and some will find has too much barnyard. Personally, I enjoyed it a lot, and was just imagining how it would work with venison. Drink now-2020.
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