Another small selection of great affordable wines,superb wines in fact for the discerning palate .
Prices are Euros per case – ex European warehouse.
Minimum Order 180 bottles (or 9 litre case equivalent)
Prices may change without Notice. Yes without Notice.
CHATEAU MUSAR RED
€
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2013 6 x 75cl 120.50
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2013 Halves 12 x 37.5cl 126.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2013 Magnums 3 x 1.5cl 124.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2013 Jeroboam 1 x 300cl 127.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2013 Imperial 1 x 600cl 245.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 2012 6 x 75cl 106.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 2012 Magnums 3 x 150cl 121.00
CHATEAU MUSAR ROSE
CHATEAU MUSAR ROSE 2017 6 x 75cl 103.00
HOCHAR PERE ET FILSHOCHAR PERE ET FILS RED 2017 6 x 75cl 65.50
HOCHAR PERE ET FILS RED 2015/16 Mags 3 x 150cl 73.00
MUSAR JEUNEMUSAR
JEUNE RED 2018 6 x 75cl 45.50
MUSAR JEUNE WHITE 2018/2019 6 x 75cl 47.50
MUSAR JEUNE ROSE 2018/2019 6 x 75cl 45.50
CHATEAU MUSAR ARACKL’
ARACK DE MUSAR (4 x distilled) 12 x 50cl 142.00
L’ARACK DE MUSAR (3 x distilled) 24 x 20cl 130.00
Limited Availability
CHATEAU MUSAR RED WINES €
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2012 Magnums 6 x 75cl 176.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2011 6 x 75cl 185.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2010 6 x 75cl 188.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2009 6 x 75cl 209.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2008 6 x 75cl 118.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2003 6 x 75cl 179.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2002 6 x 75cl 179.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2001 6 x 75cl 131.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2001 Halves 12 x 37.5cl 131.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 2000 6 x 75cl 131.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1998 6 x 75cl 137.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1998 Halves 12 x 37.5cl 137.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1997 6 x 75cl 191.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1996 Halves 12 x 37.5cl 155.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE WINES
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 2010 Magnums 3 x 150cl 179.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 2009 6 x 75cl 206.00
Rare Vintage Wines
CHATEAU MUSAR RED WINES
€
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1975 6 x 75cl 1502.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1974 6 x 75cl 1532.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1970 6 x 75cl 2400.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1969 6 x 75cl 3108.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1967 6 x 75cl 3222.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1966 6 x 75cl 3322.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1964 6x 75cl 4020.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1960 6 x 75cl 4698.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1959 6 x 75cl 7626.00
CHATEAU MUSAR RED 1956 6 x 75cl 9480.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE WINES €
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 2003 6 x 75cl 340.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 2000 6 x 75cl 286.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1998 6 x 75cl 370.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1997 6 x 75cl 286.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1992 6 x 75cl 322.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1991 6 x 75cl 364.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1981 6 x 75cl 586.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1975 6 x 75cl 700.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1969 6 x 75cl 1920.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1967 6 x 75cl 2322.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1966 6 x 75cl 1920.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1964 6 x 75cl 3558.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1961 6 x 75cl 6402.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1959 6 x 75cl 6402.00
CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE 1954 6 x 75cl 8460.00
- Chateau-Musar-Red-2012-bottle-shot-300x300.jpg (6.54 KiB) Viewed 749 times
Chateau Musar
Chateau Musar Red
Seven years in the making, Chateau Musar Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from vineyards near the Bekaa Valley villages of Aana and Kefraya on gravelly soils over limestone. Planted from the 1930s onwards, yields are low from these mature bushvines (average age: 40 years): Between 15 to 35hl per hectare.
Winemaking
The varietal components in Chateau Musar Red undergo lengthy fermentations in cement vats at temperatures below 30°C. 6 months after the harvest they are transferred into French barrels (oak from the forest of Nevers) for one year.
Blending
The varietal components are brought together two years after the harvest; the resulting blend is then placed back in cement tanks before being bottled 12 months later. Each wine is blended to reflect the character of the vintage. After 4 years’ bottle maturation in the deep stone cellars of Chateau Musar, the finished wines are released a full seven years after the harvest.
Storage
To keep the wines showing at their best, bottles must be cellared in darkness, lying on their sides and not subjected to unnecessary movement or fluctuations in temperature.
Opening
For vintages beyond 15 years of age, we recommend the use of prongs. A tutorial is available on our YouTube page A Guide to Wine Openers
Decanting and serving
Bottled unfined and unfiltered, Chateau Musar Reds are suitable for vegans; they’re also richly-textured and likely to ‘throw a crust’. This is a common feature of most fine wines and is especially true of Musar Red vintages over a decade old. Ideally, bottles should be standing up the night before opening to allow the sediment to settle. After careful decanting (and discarding of sediment, usually in the last centimetre of the bottle) the wine should be allowed to breathe for an hour and served at 18°C with roasts, grills (especially lamb), casseroles, game, and mature cheeses. A tutorial is available on our YouTube page A Guide to Decanting Wine
Chateau Musar White
Chateau Musar White
A guide to the style
In their youth: yellow-gold, subtly oaky, and creamy-textured, rich yet dry and intensely citrusy, with honeyed nuances. Wholly unique, the style has been described as resembling ‘dry Sauternes’ or mature white Graves. Chateau Musar Whites develop tawny hues and mellow spicy characters as they age. The cellars at Ghazir holds bottles of this wine dating as far back as 1954.
Grapes and vines
Seven years in the making, Chateau Musar White is a blend of ancient grape varieties Obaideh and Merwah, indigenous to the mountains of Lebanon and said to be related to Chasselas Chardonnay and Semillon. The Obaideh vineyards are in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountains on stony, chalky soils, while the Merwah vines are on the seaward side of Mount Lebanon, on calcareous gravels. Yields are very low for these untrained bushvines: 10 – 20 hl per hectare. At high altitude (around 1400m) they are still on their own roots, among very few vineyards in the world of this calibre.
Winemaking
Chateau Musar White is fermented in French oak barriques (from the forest of Nevers) for 9 months, bottled and blended at the end of its first year and released seven years after the harvest.
Storage
To keep the wines showing at their best, bottles must be cellared in darkness, lying on their sides and not subjected to unnecessary movement or fluctuations in temperature.
Opening
For vintages beyond 15 years of age, we recommend the use of prongs. A tutorial is available on our YouTube page A Guide to Wine Openers
Decanting and serving
Concentrated and complex, Chateau Musar Whites show at their best after several hours’ ‘breathing time’, and should be served ‘cellar cool’ at around 15°C. They excel with pâtés (especially foie gras), rillettes, seafood dishes and will match spicy food as the wine has such intense flavours.
“Musar’s whites and rosés are less well-known. More’s the pity: both are unusual and superb.” – ANDREW JEFFORD, ‘DECANTER’, JANUARY 2004.
- Chateau-Musar-Rose-2016-300x300.jpg (6.21 KiB) Viewed 749 times
Chateau Musar Rose
Chateau Musar Rose
A guide to the style
Chateau Musar Rosé is a still and softly-oaked tribute to the ‘blended’ rosés of Champagne, a style much enjoyed by Serge Hochar. It is not made every year as specific grape qualities are required to ensure the varieties combine in elegant form. In their youth the wines are salmon pink in colour, smooth, well-balanced and velvety-textured, with aromas and flavours of peaches, pears, oranges, grapefruit, almonds, wild herbs and citrus leaves. They develop mellow, spicy notes and tawny hues as they age.
Grapes and vines
The main components are Obaideh and Merwah, indigenous to the mountains of Lebanon and said to be related to Chardonnay and Semillon. Planted between 1920 and 1947 the Obaideh vineyards are in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountains on stony, chalky soils, while the Merwah vines are on the seaward side of Mount Lebanon on calcareous gravels. Yields are very low for these untrained bushvines: 15 to 25 hl per hectare. At high altitude (around 1400m) they are still on their own roots, among very few vineyards in the world of this calibre. Around 5% of southern red Rhône grape Cinsault gives the wine its subtle colour.
Winemaking
Fermented and aged for 6 to 9 months in French oak barrels from the forest of Nevers, the wines are bottled a year after the harvest and released for sale two years later.
Storage
To keep the wines showing at their best, bottles must be cellared in darkness, lying on their sides and not subjected to unnecessary movement or fluctuations in temperature.
Opening
For vintages beyond 15 years of age, we recommend the use of prongs. A tutorial is available on our YouTube page A Guide to Wine Openers
Decanting and serving
Complex and concentrated, Chateau Musar Rosé shows at its best after several hours’ ‘breathing time’, and should be served ‘cellar cool’ at 15°C. The citrusy flavours excel with canapés, olives, nuts, seafood and Provençal dishes.
“Musar’s whites and rosés are less well-known. More’s the pity: both are unusual and superb.” – ANDREW JEFFORD, ‘DECANTER’, JANUARY 2004.
In 1930, at just 20 years old, Gaston Hochar founded Chateau Musar, inspired by Lebanon’s 6,000-year winemaking tradition and his travels in Bordeaux. His ‘wines with noblesse’ greatly impressed senior officers in the army following on from the French mandate of the 1920s. Major Ronald Barton, of Château Langoa-Barton, stationed in Lebanon during World War II became a great friend, strengthening the links between Chateau Musar and Bordeaux that remain to this day.
Serge Hochar, Gaston’s eldest son trained as a civil engineer, then decided to study oenology and with the encouragement of his father became a student of Emile Peynaud at the University of Oenology in Bordeaux. Having declared to his father “I want to make the wine my way, I want it to be known world-wide – and I want you to quit!” he became Chateau Musar winemaker in 1959, Gaston senior having graciously given way. He then spent 18 years perfecting the formula for Chateau Musar’s Red and was chosen as Decanter Magazine’s first ‘Man of the Year’ in 1984 for his dedication to producing superb quality wines during Lebanon’s Civil War (1975-1990). Serge had two sons: Gaston and Marc. Both have studied engineering and worked in the banking sector. Gaston now manages the day-to-day running of the Chateau Musar winery, Marc its commercial aspects.
“My brother looked after the liquid, I look after the liquidity.” Like his brother Serge, Ronald Hochar was encouraged to participate at Musar from an early age: both grew up washing bottles and working at the winery before pursuing their separate paths within the business. Ronald would work 7am-5pm in Ghazir then work in the evenings at the Musar shop in Beirut. “We were paid 5 Lebanese pounds a day” says Ronald “I learned everything about selling from my father.” Having studied law, Ronald’s good-humoured contributions on the commercial and logistical fronts (against huge odds he kept Musar’s trucks running during the war) remain vital to the business. Ronald’s son Ralph worked with the on-trade sector in the United Kingdom until early 2017 and is now focusing on Southeast Asia from Chateau Musar’s offices and his daughter Elsa produced a documentary film about Chateau Musar.
https://chateaumusar.com/heritage-winemaking/
https://chateaumusar.com/heritage-winemaking/history/
CHATEAU MUSAR – THE STORY OF A WINE ICON
Knowing about Chateau Musar takes more than a sip or a glassful, however fascinating the taste of that wine might prove to be. To know Chateau Musar takes an understanding of terroir, of natural winemaking, of human nature and of history. All of these factors have a powerful influence over the way our wine appears in the glass – how it tastes, smells, lives, breathes and changes.
The story of Musar’s survival during the Lebanese civil war of 1975 to 1990 is well documented. It was a formative time for our wine and for its creator, Serge Hochar, who was only just beginning to trust his grapes (as he famously said) to ‘become what they wanted to be’. From 1975, he had no choice. They were harvested when the shelling paused; their transit to the winery took as long as avoiding militia check-points permitted (sometimes days), and winemaking could only happen when the coast road was clear and Serge could reach the winery.
The wine he made during this time had to find its own way past the delays and disruption caused by war, and miraculously it did so. Serge called his 1982 ‘a pure wine of war’. Eighty hectares of Hochar vineyards in the Beka’a Valley became the frontline for Israeli and Syrian tanks, the grapes only harvested by chance when a break in fighting allowed the loyal Bedouin grape-pickers to dash in and collect what they could. And yet the wine was to become an elegant, mellow red full of soft fruits and pomegranate charm – Andrew Jefford called it ‘typically Musar in its enigmatic simplicity/complexity’.
And yet the war is only a tiny part of the history that makes our wines what they are. Our Lebanese heritage, charted right the way back to Phoenician times, over 4,000 years ago, has had a dramatic influence on the way the vine is grown in our land. The Phoenicians were the first to cultivate the vine professionally and to trade wine internationally; they then taught the Greeks their oenological skills, and earned the admiration of the Romans for their links to market.
Of all the history that influences us, it is the Roman temple at Ba’albek that paved our way with the most authority. As Serge said: ‘This is the only serious temple erected to Bacchus [the god of wine] anywhere in the Roman world. And they put it here, in the Beka’a. Why? Because the Romans and Greeks, the Phoenicians and Minoans, and all peoples who came before them, all knew that the Beka’a is the spiritual home of wine.’
It is Serge’s trust for his wines, rooted in history and Lebanese terroir, that has led them to light the way for the natural wine movement. He would say: ‘My wines are natural. I am the one who makes them, but I do not interfere with nature. Taste them and listen to them and you will see!’ Serge enjoyed explaining this ‘No Touch Policy’ to anyone who would listen, and would eagerly show the incredible wines – both red and white – of complex longevity that were the result. He loved to travel, and it didn’t take him long to develop a worldwide support club for Chateau Musar, with followers eager every year to find out what his new vintage would bring.
That our wines – our vintages – are shaped by time is as clear today as it ever was. Take a look at the tasting notes for 15, 20 or 30-year old Chateau Musar and you will begin to understand the elegance that it develops as it evolves in bottle. This evolution is a vitally important part of Serge’s winemaking legacy, and that we, as a family, are determined to continue.
To know Chateau Musar as it truly should be known, takes an understanding of these and many other aspects of our lives in Lebanon that we talk about for the first time in a new book – Chateau Musar, the Story of a Wine Icon – published by the Académie du Vin Library. Our book brings together the people and events that have shaped our past, it highlights our vintages (red and white, from 1951 right up to our latest release) and celebrates everything we hope for the future.
Thinking of starting a small select Fine Wine Club, Each month we would taste 2 or 3 select fine wines. The wines would be bought between us all at cost.The wines we taste we all would choose. And sent to my PO Box or DHL account address. No Joining fees. No monthly Fees. No Collections. No Charity,i've got charity fatigue.
Let me know if any interest BELOW. A very relaxed informal evening once a month
No Worries If No Interest.
It also can only happen once the borders open and crossings are back to normal.
Again wines of the world is cheaper than other suppliers,not by much though,only 5 or 6 grand a bottle on the 78 YO Macallan Red 
Im sure some of the pedantics have already realised that !
