Chateau Musar Red 2018

The 2018 vintage has a deep garnet colour in the glass with dried cherries and mature red fruits on the nose. The palate is rich and concentrated with cranberries, raisins, and dates; there is good acidity with fine tannins. It has an enticing smoky, dusty fruit with soft liquorice undertones and at 6 years of age upon release, it is already developed and mature.

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.

In 1930, at just 20 years old, Gaston Hochar founded Chateau Musar, inspired by Lebanon's 6,000-year winemaking tradition and his travels in Bordeaux. His 'wines with noblesse' greatly impressed senior officers in the army following the French mandate of the 1920s. Major Ronald Barton, of Château Langoa-Barton, stationed in Lebanon during World War II, became a great friend, strengthening the links between Chateau Musar and Bordeaux that remain to this day.

The wines of Chateau Musar are unique expressions from a country with an ancient winemaking culture, as vines have been cultivated in Lebanon's high-altitude Bekaa Valley for over 6,000 years.