Chateau Musar Blanc 2012
(Bekaa Valley, Lebanon) - [DM 92]

About the wine:

Grape Varietals: 60% Obaideh (aka Chardonnay!) & 40% Merwah (aka Semillon!)

Chateau Musar whites are truly unique, produced from some of the oldest vineyard sites in the world dating back to 5,000 BC, although it was the Phoenicians, the great maritime race of the Mediterranean, who first ‘introduced’ Lebanese wine to a wider audience. Indigenous ancient grape varieties Obaideh and Merwah, reputedly the ancestors of Chardonnay/Chasselas and Semillon are still cultivated from un-grafted vines on original rootstock. The vineyards on the seaward facing slopes of Mount Lebanon and the foothills of Anti-Lebanon were planted between 50 and 90 years ago and are at 1,200 metres above sea level – few vineyards of this calibre and history remain in the world today.

Winemaking: The 2012 vintage was fermented and aged partly in new oak barrels for 9 months and partly in stainless steel vats with temperatures ranging between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius. Vintage release in 2020 – cellared well it will keep for decades.

Vineyard Region: Mount Lebanon slopes, Bekaa Valley

Alcohol: 12%

Tasting Notes:

Pale gold in colour – there is quince, lemon zest, baked apple with a hint of vanilla on the nose. The palate has citrus and subtle herbaceous notes, grapefruit and preserved lemons with an overall impression of ripeness, a lovely freshness and long dry finish. Cellared well, it will keep for decades.

Ratings & Reviews:

"Fine lemon-yellow, bright and still fresh-looking but also showing some reassuring maturity; dry honey on the nose, dry spices with a controlled richness of fruit on the palate that reminds me of Ygrec: complex and dry with sweetness in its DNA before natural acidity lifts the slightly exotic aftertaste on the finish; lanolin smooth in texture but not an easy wine to assess and not meant to be at this stage, gains familiarity after a while, but the mystery of young white Musar remains for another day. 2020-35"

- Steven Spurrier, January 2020

"I’ll be the first to admit that the 2012 Chateau Musar White is something of an acquired taste, being as it is a blend of Obaideh and Merwah, which sound more like Old Testament prophets than they do ancient indigenous grape varieties. Fermented and aged in oak, the wine is peachy, lemony and creamy and if it’s like anything at all, it’s like a fine white Rhône." - Jonathan Ray,The Spectator Magazine February 2020