Château Musar - Château Musar red 1998

Château Musar 1998 (92 TSW)

Really an unique wine and still full of live. I still have some 2001 and 2003 vintages in the cellar.  

My notes: In the glass a bright red/brown color.
On the medium++ nose aromas of blackberries and cassis with well integrated hints of leather, herbs, mushrooms and stable.
On the palate dry, full-bodied and complex with medium acidity and tannins. Flavours are a recall of the nose with a nice long and smooth aftertaste.

Chateau Musar is located in an area where viticulture is more than 6,000 years old: the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The company's 180 hectares of vineyards lie approximately 30 kilometers south of Beirut, between two mountain ranges. The grapes grow at a height of around 1000 meters, the white ones at around 1500 meters. They are rooted in stony soils with limestone and pebbles.

The climate is hot, sunny and dry, with fresh mountain winds and cold nights. Good for the grapes, which can mature calmly and healthily and build up fresh acids. It is a perfect place for nature-friendly viticulture; Chateau Musar was Lebanon's first certified organic wine domain. The grapes are harvested by hand and fermented naturally. The wines remain unfiltered and the amount of added sulphite is minimal.

Founder Gaston Hochar started this special company in the early thirties in Ghazir, on the other side of Beirut. Over time, modern wine cellars were built, which regularly had to serve as an air raid shelter. His children and grandchildren continue Gaston's work. In particular, his late son Serge has put Chateau Musar on the map worldwide and has given Lebanese viticulture a big boost with his intense, long-lived wines.