Chateau Musar White, Bekaa Valley 2014

One of the most significant wines to come from Lebanon and one of the most-loved to boot, this is wine from a region that has a very long history of wine production from the wedding of Canaa in Galilee to the Irish forces helping ferry the grapes from vineyard to winery over the front-line during Lebanon's 15-year Civil War.

This is a land that has incredible natural richness; Musar itself is blessed with iron-rich red soils that support vines with vivid green growth and grapes that ripen perfectly with the benefits of a large diurnal temperature range.

Seven years in the making, Chateau Musar White is a blend of ancient grape varieties Obaideh and Merwah, indigenous to the mountains of Lebanon for more than 5,000 years and said to be related to Chasselas Chardonnay and Semillon. The Obaideh vineyards are in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountains on stony, chalky soils, while the Merwah vines are on the seaward side of Mount Lebanon, on calcareous gravels. Yields are very low for these untrained bushvines: 10 – 20 hl per hectare. At high altitude (around 1400m) they are still on their own roots, among very few vineyards in the world of this calibre.

The Merwah was fermented and aged in French oak barriques (from the forest of Nevers) for 9 months on the lees and the Obaideh was fermented in stainless steel vats, two different fermentation methods to match the two different grape characteristics.

Fermentation temperatures for both ranged from 19-23°C and malolactic fermentation went smoothly. It was blended in June 2015, bottled in the August after cold stabilisation and the vintage released in 2021 after 7 years of ageing.

A year noted as the first since records began, where the mountains were not covered with winter snow and dry conditions further compounded by low rainfall through much of the spring and into summer. Thankfully, the ancient and indigenous Merwah and Obaideh varietals that make up the Chateau Musar White, are grown at very high altitude (1200-1400 metres above sea level) and avoid the higher temperatures found on the Bekaa Valley floor, allowing the harvest to start a little later with Obaideh on 2nd October followed by Merwah picked on 11th October.

In their youth: yellow-gold, subtly oaky, and creamy-textured, rich yet dry and intensely citrusy, with honeyed nuances. Wholly unique, the style has been described as resembling ‘dry Sauternes’ or mature white Graves. Chateau Musar Whites develop tawny hues and mellow spicy characters as they age. The cellars at Ghazir holds bottles of this wine dating as far back as 1954.

Concentrated and complex, Chateau Musar Whites show at their best after several hours’ ‘breathing time’, and should be served ‘cellar cool’ at around 15°C. They excel with pâtés (especially foie gras), rillettes, seafood dishes and will match spicy food as the wine has such intense flavours.

Golden-yellow colour with a complex aroma of beeswax, orange peel and a delicate savoury character. Its bursting with flavour, ranging from herb-scented runny honey, to ripe peach, banana, fresh almonds and hazelnuts. A full-bodied white despite having fresh acidity and a saline edge which results in an attractive textural balanced wine. Good length and if cellared well, will keep for decades.

“Musar’s whites and rosés are less well-known. More’s the pity: both are unusual and superb.” – ANDREW JEFFORD, ‘DECANTER’, JANUARY 2004.