2018 Chateau Musar Rose

Chateau Musar is Lebanon’s reference-point wine producer, and apart from that, one of the world’s wine greats. Musar was founded by Gaston Hochar in 1930, who was inspired by Lebanon’s 6,000-year winemaking tradition and his travels in Bordeaux. The vineyards and winery are now run by his grandsons and grandnephew. Their vineyards and winery are located in the Bekaa Valley, near the border with Syria and halfway between Beirut and Damascus. In this often-troubled corner of the world (including now, unfortunately), Musar has patiently been growing and making beautiful, aged and age-worthy wines for almost a century. The wines nod stylistically towards both Bordeaux and the Rhône Valley.

Musar’s rosé was inspired by blended rosés (i.e., mostly white grapes plus a little red) from Champagne, which Gaston’s son, Serge, was a fan of. The first vintage was 1994. It is 57% obaideh and 40% merwah, two indigenous Lebanese white varieties, with 3% cinsault. The white varieties are from old, bush-trained vines growing at very high altitude (1200+ meters) on the mountains that define the Bekaa Valley. The wine fermented and aged for 6 to 9 months in French oak barrels and was first released in 2020. Six years later, we are fortunate to get a library release of this singular rosé. 

Delicate red fruits and citrus whisper beneath bottle-aged tertiary flavors of forest floor and spice, including a piney note. This is an ultra-savory rosé that is dry almost to the point of austerity. If you like aged Bandol rosé and López de Heredia’s Rioja Rosato, you’re going to love this wine. It’s a world-class aperitif wine and also great with seafood, including salmon and fish stews. Serve it at cellar temperature (~55˚F) not cold, and open the bottle a couple of hours before drinking if possible.