A look into old vine wine from Lebanon
Lebanon has always fascinated me and this week I am giving my column over to this beautiful country and to its wonderful wines. I had planned this before the recent explosion that left more than 300,000 people without homes as Lebanon’s economy has been close to collapse for months.
Lebanon is a tiny country on the Mediterranean Sea just to the east of Cyprus and just 10,452 sq km in size — for comparison, County Cork is 7,500 sq km. A hot dry country with 300 days of sunshine, vines are mainly grown in the Beqaa Valley in the east of the country, home to Bedouin tribes and, these days, a huge number of Syrian refugees. The Beqaa is 1,000m above sea level which helps mitigate the heat, and vines are generally organic, dry-farmed (rainfall is rare), and hand-tended.
There are more than 50 producers in Lebanon but two are widely available here: Ksara and Musar. Château Ksara is the oldest and was founded by the Jesuits in 1857, but Château Musar is probably the most famous thanks to the charm and marketing savvy of the Hochar family who first planted in the Beqaa in the 1930s.
Warm climate vines such as cinsault, carignan and grenache are probably best suited but Ksara and Musar also grow Bordeaux grapes. Some of Musar's came from Ronald Barton of Irish owned Ch Léoville Barton who forged a family friendship with Gaston Hochar during the Second World War that endures to this day.
Musar is less typical of the wines of Lebanon as it is made in a ‘natural’ style and takes seven years to make, only being released after several years’ bottle-aging — the 2013 is the current vintage and will age 50 years or more if stored correctly but is just as intriguing in its youth.
During the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) when more than 100,000 people died and chaos reigned throughout the country both Ksara and Musar kept picking grapes despite shells landing nearby and sometimes with Israeli and Syrian tanks facing each other over the vines as happened in 1982 — it was a miracle that the Musar 1982 vintage was produced.
Mackenway Wines, who import Ch Ksara, are donating all profits to a charity chosen by Ksara; and Findlaters, who import Musar, are donating to the Red Cross so buying these wines will do some good as well as provide fascinating flavours for your table.
Bradleys, Redmonds, Clontarf Wines, Donnybrook Fair, GreenMan, McHughs, Celtic Whiskey, Ryans Mayo, Whelehans, Terroirs, Wicklow Wine Co. wicklowwineco.ie
The Musar Jeune range was launched in 2007 and is unoaked and designed for earlier drinking than its big brothers. A blend of Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon and made in Musar’s typical ‘natural’ style, this has bright red cherry and floral aromas with big black cherry and crunchy blackcurrant flavours with structure, spice, character, and above all, style. Delicious.
Bradleys, Redmonds, GreenMan Wines, Wicklow Wine Co., Corkscrew thecorkscrew.ie, Whelehans whelehanswines.com
A blend of Viognier, Chardonnay and Vermentino with no oak and a focus on bright fruit flavours but inevitably made in that classic, dense, Musar style. Aromas of warm croissants mixed with passionfruit and grapefruit, honeyed and concentrated with peaches and tropical fruits and big, round flavours tempered by background minerals and chalk.
Ksara was founded by Jesuits in 1857 but has been in local hands since 1973 who maintain a fine stock of old vines grown at 1,000-1,300m. This is a newer vintage than I tasted a couple of months back — syrah blended with cab franc and sauvignon. Delightful bright red fruit aromas and flavours with a spice and anise background and textured concentrated black fruits.
Ardkeen Stores, ardkeen.com, Redmonds, Shiels Londis, Deveneys Dundrum, Sweeneys, McHughs, mchughs.ie
This is from 60-year-old vines grown at 1,600m and made from the ancient Merwah grape (more often used for Arak spirit). I found this hugely intriguing given its mix of citrus fruits and floral aromas combined with a rich, layered palate showing noticeable tannins, but also ripe tropical fruits and a pleasing tart citrus kick on the finish.
Bradleys, JJ O’Driscolls, Ardkeen ardkeen.com, O’Briens, Martins, Whelehans, wineonline.ie
This is effectively baby Musar with many of the wonderful flavours of Ch Musar but a somewhat shorter drinking window. The colour has faded to a pleasing garnet red. Beautifully pure mature fruit aromas leap from the glass with baked blueberry and blackberry, gorgeous textured darker blackcurrant and plum fruits on the palate with touches of prunes on the finish and a beguiling elegance.
Widely Available: Bradleys, JJ O’Driscolls, Ardkeen Stores ardkeen.com, O’Briens, CarryOut, Baggot St. Wines, Whelehans wineonline.ie
Musar isn’t simply an icon of the wine world — it's a living tribute to a family and a country’s fortitude and resilience. Extraordinary aromas of concentrated blackberry and elderberries mixed with leather and tar — a multilayered palate with ripe plums, black fruits and violets followed by, red currants, chewy plum skins and a long, long finish.