Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan
75cl * Vegan * 14.0% ABV * Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
Serge Hochar, the driving force behind Lebanon's Chateau Musar, once remarked of the Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, ‘this is the only serious temple erected to Bacchus - the god of wine - anywhere in the Roman world. And they put it here, in the Bekaa. Why? Because the Romans and Greeks, the Phoenicians and Minoans, and all peoples who came before them, all knew that the Bekaa is the spiritual home of wine.’ His wines most definitely uphold this legacy.
Château Musar is set in the Hochar family's 18th-century castle overlooking the Mediterranean at Ghazir. At harvest time the grapes are handpicked by Bedouins at dawn, who then drive them through the mountains to the castle for vinification.
The perfect growing conditions of the 1997 vintage allowed the grapes to mature slowly. According to Serge, 'it was the slowest and best fermentation we have ever had at Chateau Musar', prompting him to decry this a 'vintage to follow' that November.
Now drinking beautifully, the wine has a rich, warm colour now paling towards the rim, with a smoky nose full of spices and fruits. On the palate there are cherries, redcurrants, pomegranates and Christmas spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Good acidity with good tannin levels results in a wine of classic structure with long ageing potential.
"First tasted with Serge Hochar in the Chateau Musar cellars, December 1999. The wine was still in individual vats: Cinsault from the garrigues of Kefraya in the Bekaa Valley: crisp, fragrant; attractive, some elegance. Carignan from Aana, a little further north: more flesh, nice fruit, very tannic. Cabernet Sauvignon was an incredibly deep colour: green, stalky nose; austere, astringent. It would be another year before blending. Most recently, seemed fully developed, good flavour, lovely aftertaste." Michael Broadbent, Vintage Wine (May 2002)
"Redcurrant scents, and a clean, fresh, intense flavour, more drily curranty than is usual for Musar – Andrew Jefford, Decanter Magazine, January 2004 The Chateau Musar 1997 will be familiar to all devotees of that deep, dark, rich, fleshy, fruity and – aptly – cedary wine and it's scrumptious." Simon Hoggart, The Spectator (February 2004)
"Very light in colour with maturity on the rim: salmon ruby. Surprisingly intense and concentrated nose with strong ash and autumnal smells; great acidity, damp leaves and old bonfires. On the palate, very sweet fruit and a long finish which goes through several evolutions (one of which develops old pomegranate flavours) in the longest aftertastes of any Musar. Full mouthfeel defies the lightness of the wine. Almost chewy in texture." Bartholomew Broadbent (October 2019)