Château Musar’s red is the reference point for Lebanese fine wine—an age-worthy blend that marries Old World craft with the Bekaa Valley’s high-altitude character. Sourced from old, dry-farmed vines around 1,000 metres above sea level on gravelly limestone, it draws its poise from cool nights and long, dry summers; ripeness comes without heaviness, and a natural freshness runs through the wine.
The cepage is classic Musar: Cabernet Sauvignon for backbone, Cinsault for perfume and softness, and Carignan for spice and structure (proportions vary by vintage). Everything is hand-picked, each plot fermented separately with native yeasts in concrete vats. After a long maceration, the wines spend roughly a year in seasoned French oak before being blended and returned to the cellar for extended bottle ageing. Releases are deliberately late—the Grand Vin typically leaves the château about seven years after harvest—so it arrives already poised, with the architecture in place for decades more.
In youth, Musar Red is lifted and vivid: cherry, red plum and wild strawberry layered with dried herbs, spice, cedar and a touch of Bekaa dust. The palate is medium to full in body but never ponderous—lively acidity, fine, grainy tannins and a savoury, gently balsamic undertow carry the finish. With time, it becomes hauntingly complex: leather, game, tobacco leaf, dried rose and truffle glide over a still-bright core of fruit, the texture turning silken as the elements knit.
Winemaking is minimalist by design: organic vineyards, spontaneous fermentations, no fining and only light filtration at most. Bottle variation can occur—that’s part of Musar’s charm—but the signature remains constant: a wine that is alive, transparent and resolutely itself.
Practical notes, for those lucky enough to pour it: younger bottles benefit from a generous decant (two hours is sensible); mature vintages should be stood upright the day before and decanted gently off sediment. Serve at 16–18°C in large Bordeaux stems. The sweet spot for most vintages begins around 8–10 years, with top years cruising comfortably past 20–30.
Château Musar Red is the country’s standard-bearer and one of the world’s great originals—authentic, age-worthy and unmistakably shaped by its place.