Chateau Musar White 2017

Andrew Jefford once wrote, following a visit to the Chateau Musar winery in Lebanon and hours spent with the late Serge Hochar “Musar’s whites and rosés are less well known.  More’s the pity, both are unusual and superb.”

Chateau Musar White is as truly unique wine, made from ancient Lebanese varieties Obaideh and Merwah, dating back thousands of years.  Reputedly, the ancestors of Chardonnay and Semillon, they are among only 6 indigenous grapes still commercially cultivated in Lebanon.  Our original vineyards were planted between 50-90 years ago at around 1,300 metres above sea level in the foothills of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains near Ain Arab on stony, chalky soils and on the seaward side of Mount Lebanon in Baqaata, on calcareous gravels.  The vines remain phylloxera-free and are still on their own roots – few vineyards of this calibre remain in the world.

The style is rich and intensely zesty, with complex, long-lasting flavours and very aromatic.  As such, the wine benefits from decanting and is best served at around 15 degrees, cellar cool rather than chilled or room temperature.  Serge used to describe his Chateau whites as his latest reds, or a red wine in disguise, as in the only thing white about it is its colour!

Johnathon Ray in the Spectator Magazine “The wine is peachy, lemony and creamy and if it’s like anything at all, it’s like a fine white Rhone”. Spot on in our opinion!

And the late Steven Spurrier described Chateau Whites upon release “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 access and not meant to be at this stage, gains familiarity after a while, but the mystery of young white Musar remains for another day.”

They release their white vintages when they feel they are ready for drinking, not before and the 2017 vintage was released in April 2023.  As these wines, if cellared well, age beautifully for decades, they have a library stock of vintages as far back as the 1950's, several of which are available in the U.K.  As they age and mature they take on more honey and nutty notes, the colour becomes more golden and amber.

They are fermented and aged partly in oak barrels for 9 months and partly in stainless steel with temperatures ranging between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius. 

Suggested Food Pairings

• Twice baked goat’s cheese souffle, artichoke, crisp pancetta, walnut dressing
• Smoked salmon souffle with lobster and dill glaze
• Young buck blue cheese ice cream, pear, walnut (Ashford Castle, Ireland)
• Conference pear tatin, walnut ice cream, orange infused Anglaise
• British cheeses, Cornish Yarg, black bomber, Gubbeen
• Torched mackerel, butterbean and zaatar, fennel, harissa
• Lobster, Cornish crab, cauliflower, apple and curry – Northcote
• Shredded pastry with Nabulsi cheese, honey and orange blossom pistachio nuts
• Wild sweet chestnut and beech nut tart
• Baked fig and date tart, pistachio and walnut ice cream
• Mushroom, bacon and parmesan tart, celeriac and truffle mousse
• Lobster and café de Beirut butter
• Charred carrot salad, cauliflower cous cous dukkah with Aleppo pepper and feta cheese
• Lentil and green bean salad with pomegranate molasses dressing

An eclectic mix here but actually some familiar themes can be spotted!

Serge used to prefer to serve his Chateau whites at the same temperature as Chateau reds, to open in advance to let them breathe and even decant the older vintages and enjoy them on their own watching them develop in the glass over time or with salty or smoky foods. They do work surprisingly well with Asian dishes because they have good acidity and structure.