One Good Thing Coming from Lebanon

Lebanon has a troubled modern history and has become almost synonymous with conflict. But it is also thought to be the oldest site of wine production in the world, wines having been exported from the region to Egypt in the third millennium BC.

The Phoenicians, famous for their enterprise throughout the region, considered wine to be an important element of religious ceremony; and Bacchus, the Roman god, may well have origins in the wine rituals of Canaan.

Sadly, the Lebanese seem to have lost their passion for such things. But wine is still produced from grapes grown in the vineyards of the Bekaa Valley and enjoyed in Europe and elsewhere, the UK being one of its most enthusiastic consumers.

Chateau Musar, one of the three main Lebanese winemakers and the most famous in the West, cultivates its grapes in the Bekaa, where, at 1,000 metres, the cool nights lengthen the crucial ripening process. The grapes are then transported to a site in the hills north of Beirut, in Ghazir, for production. The Hochar family own and run the winery.

Serge Hochar, a former Decanter Man of the Year, is a youthful 70 years old and has been managing the estate for fifty years. These days he is ably assisted by his son, Gaston (named after his Grandfather, the Gaston Hochar who founded Chateau Musar in 1930), and chief oenologist, Tarek Sakr.

Those fifty years have presented a variety of challenges – especially in continuing production through civil war and invasion – but only once, in 1976, has a vintage been missed.

That said, in 1984, the overland route from the Bekaa to Ghazir blocked by fighting, grapes had to be transported instead west to the Mediterranean, then via boat to Jounieh, north of Beirut, and overland from there to the hills of Ghazir.

This convoluted journey was completed successfully, but by the time the grapes reached the presses, five days late, they were spoiled so Mr. Hochar, showing resourcefulness common to the Lebanese, produced Madeira instead. Some bottles were set aside and cellared, and regular checks have suggested it is maturing into a very good wine.

As well as this accidental foray into Madeira, Chateau Musar produces Arak, the aniseed-flavored cousin of raki and ouzo – and the local favorite. But it is the wines that are more familiar to Western palates.

The Chateau Musar White is made from indigenous obaideh and merwah grape varieties. It is often suggested that the former is an ancestor of chardonnay, having been originally exported from the Middle East to Europe; the latter resembles Semillon. The 2001 is gold in color with delightful flavors of honey and spiced apple, and has a long finish.

The more famous Chateau Musar Red, a blend of cinsault, carignan and cabernet sauvignon, is aged in Nevers oak, blended in its third year and then bottled and aged for a further four.

Drunk separately, the cinsault is suggestive of mature red plum; the carignan offers a hint of pineapple; and the cabernet sauvignon has a smooth sweetness (Tarek describes it as milkshake, but Mr. Hochar cannot bring himself to quite agree).

What we are all decided upon is that the ultimate blend is wonderful: soft and velvety with a touch of pepper. Aged, it acquires an earthy, chocolaty flavour.