2020 Chateau Musar - Rose Bekaa Valley (750ml)

Chateau Musar is Lebanon's most celebrated wine estate, founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar after he returned from studying in Bordeaux. The Rosé is not made every vintage. It's released only in years when very specific grape characteristics and climatic conditions come together to let the varieties combine in fine, elegant form.

The 2020 blend is built primarily from two indigenous white grapes, Obaideh at roughly two thirds and Merwah at nearly a third, both varieties with roots in Lebanon stretching back thousands of years. The grapes were harvested in October 2020 from ungrafted, low-yielding vines that are 80 to 90 years old, planted at around 1,300 meters on the west-facing slopes of the Anti-Lebanon range and Mount Lebanon. A small addition of Cinsault grown in the Bekaa Valley gives the wine its distinctive salmon pink hue. The wine was fermented and aged for 9 months in French oak, then bottled in September 2021, a process that lends subtle smoky, spiced complexity.

Expect an aromatic glass of peach, ripe strawberry, mandarin, and candied orange with a whisper of vanilla spice, layered over a velvety texture, bright citrus and red fruit, and a long, refined finish. Unlike most rosés, this one is built to age and can develop further complexity over several years in the cellar.

Serve lightly chilled with grilled seafood, shellfish, or Mediterranean mezze.