My last winery tour in Lebanon was to Ksara where we started out with a delicious lunch.  Having just tasted over 20 wines prior to noon, it was a nice break to feast on Duck and fries.

We walked through their caves and on the beautiful grounds before entering the tasting room where we go to try their delicious wines.  Rosé, Chardonnay, Moscatel, Carignan and their top level cuvee.  All delicious but the chateau wine was truly appreciated on my flight to London.  The 2016 was served with dinner and I was amazed at how delicious it was.  Once again- Lebanese wine with some cellaring blew me away.  There is something to be said about the terroir in Lebanon, it makes stunning, ageworthy wines from native grapes was well as International varieties.  Something to keep an eye out for.  A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at this winery which ranks number #1 in production in the country.  Salut….

My cousins own this winery in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.  I have been a fan of their wines for many years and finally got to meet them and visit the winery- what a most excellent time we had.  Starting with a traditional breakfast we gathered around my cousins and got to know each other.  My first thought was ‘they must be expecting a large group on this murky Saturday because the lady behind the bar was decanting quite a few bottles of wine- little did I know….

Our tour of the cellars started with barrel samples of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and then a blend.  The 2017 wines were very youthful, tannic and delicious.  Way too early to contemplate drinking.  The 2018 barrel blend was stunning.  Perfumed, it was integrated with smooth tannins.  It will be a beautiful wine in bottle.  Our tasting continued upstairs where we were treated to the samples of their Rosé, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay blend and others.  Then came time for the Chateau wine and my cousin’s Merlot.  Stunning.  Simply amazing wines that we were treated to.  Vintages going back to 2000 were sampled.  The Merlots we drank were impeccable.  I kept thinking to myself that Lebanese wines are amazing- they truly reward patience in the cellar.  My cousin is an excellent winemaker who will not bottle or sell a wine until it is ready.  Economically this is perhaps not the smartest move, but for the love of the wine it is the right thing to do.  Close to half of their production is exported, so if you see a bottle in your local shop or on a list, try it.  Unfortunately the Merlot is only sold at the winery, a shame as it rivals some of the best I have ever tasted.  I will savor the bottles I brought back with fond memories of my best winery experience ever.  Such an awesome day!  Salut….

Perched in the hills just south of Tripoli, Lebanon is this relatively new winery.  Built to be ‘green’ they have won awards for their design and production.  The winemaker was a really nice Spanish gent who communicated in French through my uncle.  I may have missed a few comments, lost in the translation, but the wines were impressive.  We drank their white straight form the tank- a blend that included Muscat which really excites me.  It was fragrant, medium bodied and delicious.  Sampling reds from the barrel was a delight.  We got to see the blending room and also the cellars.  A fascinating winery with some excellent potential.  Mark my words, in 10 years time this wine will be very sought after.  Salut….

The last time I visited Musar was in 2007 with my dad.  The same lady that guided us then was there this time- small world.  My uncle and I started the tour with a visit to the cellars where thousands upon thousands of bottles lay, waiting for the right time.  Behind locked gates were library wines back to the beginning of this iconic winery’s inception.  The wines of Musar are known to be very cellar worthy and can last a long, long time.

The tasting started with their entry level white, rosé and red followed by the flagship white- a blend of Obeidi and Merwah.  Complex and layered with fruit and tertiary notes, we would revisit this wine AFTER tasting the reds- pretty bold move.

The mid level red was very good, fresh and easy to drink.  The top level cuvee, from 2015 was youthful, tight but brimming with potential.  I love this wine, in youth and in maturity.  We tasted the white again, which was an interesting experiment.  The tertiary notes really started to evolve after some time- a profound wine with complexity that will only deepen as time goes on.  From the 2013 vintage, it too is a young wine.  I did not appreciate their whites when I first tried them years ago, I think they need plenty of cellaring and good decant, a point I will stick to with the bottles I brought home.  Speaking of which- I took two bottles to a tasting in the UK.  The 1996  red was in the top 3 wines of the night against some pretty heavy hitters.  The 1998 white was sublime and open for business.

It was a treat to visit the winery and taste their offerings.  Salut….