The Château Musar of Bekaa Valley

Château Musar - Rouge (Gaston Hochar)
The winery offers 16 different wines
4.1
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Its wines get an average rating of 4.1.
It is ranked in the top 1 of the estates of Bekaa Valley.
It is located in Bekaa Valley

The Château Musar is one of the largest wineries in the world. It offers 16 wines for sale in of Bekaa Valley to come and discover on site or to buy online.

Top Château Musar wines

Looking for the best Château Musar wines in Bekaa Valley among all the wines in the region? Check out our tops of the best red, white or effervescent Château Musar wines. Also find some food and wine pairings that may be suitable with the wines from this area. Learn more about the region and the Château Musar wines with technical and enological descriptions.

The top red wines of Château Musar

Food and wine pairings with a red wine of Château Musar

How Château Musar wines pair with each other generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or spicy food such as recipes of roast monkfish with bacon, ramadan berber soup (harira) or white beans with tomato (italy).

Organoleptic analysis of red wines of Château Musar

On the nose the red wine of Château Musar. often reveals types of flavors of butterscotch, menthol or orange peel and sometimes also flavors of tobacco leaf, dried herbs or black plum.

The best vintages in the red wines of Château Musar

  • 1982With an average score of 4.60/5
  • 1987With an average score of 4.60/5
  • 1974With an average score of 4.60/5
  • 1980With an average score of 4.50/5
  • 1988With an average score of 4.50/5
  • 1972With an average score of 4.50/5

The grape varieties most used in the red wines of Château Musar.

  • Cinsault
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Grenache
  • Carignan
  • Mourvedre
  • Shiraz/Syrah

Discovering the wine region of Bekaa Valley

The Bekaa Valley is the heartland of modern Lebanese wine. Almost 90 percent of Lebanon's wine is made here, as is a respectable proportion of its Arak, the anise-flavored spirit that remains the nation's favorite alcoholic drink. The original Bekaa Valley Vineyards were planted with Cinsaut, which was subsequently joined by other French vine varieties. Most of these remain in Lebanon’s vinicultural makeup today: red Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and white Ugni Blanc, Clairette and Chardonnay.

The oldest winery in the area is Chateau Ksara, which was established by the Jesuit Christians of Taanayel (Tanail), an ancient monastic settlement just down the valley from Ksara. The first Vineyard there was planted in 1857, with plants brought from France via the colonies in Algeria. At that time Lebanon was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, whose Sharia law condemned the production or consumption of wine except for religious purposes. Thus the initial winery was very subdued, and it was not until the French took control of the country after WW1 (under the League of Nations' French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon) that Bekaa Valley wine production began to expand.

Chateau Musar, founded in 1930, is another Long-established estate in the valley and the most famous in global terms. A 1979 write-up in Decanter magazine by Michael Broadbent helped to Open up export markets. By 1990, the vast majority of their production left the country. This year marked the end of the Lebanese Civil War, which had lasted since 1975.

The top white wines of Château Musar

Food and wine pairings with a white wine of Château Musar

How Château Musar wines pair with each other generally quite well with dishes of pork, game (deer, venison) or rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) such as recipes of oven roasted rabbit that cooks itself!, wild boar, roe deer or doe leg or salmon steaks with lentils.

Organoleptic analysis of white wines of Château Musar

On the nose the white wine of Château Musar. often reveals types of flavors of pineapple, oak or honey and sometimes also flavors of melon, mango or lychee.

The best vintages in the white wines of Château Musar

  • 1975With an average score of 4.60/5
  • 1989With an average score of 4.30/5
  • 1991With an average score of 4.30/5
  • 2001With an average score of 4.20/5
  • 2002With an average score of 4.20/5
  • 1990With an average score of 4.10/5

The grape varieties most used in the white wines of Château Musar.

  • Chardonnay
  • Viognier
  • Vermentino
  • Obaideh
  • Merwah

Discover the grape variety: Vermentino

The vermentino grape variety was widespread in Italy, Sardinia and Corsica. Today, Vermentino is grown in the regions bordering the Mediterranean, mainly in Provence (Côtes de Provence, Bellet), Corsica (Corse Calvi), Languedoc (Côtes du Roussillon, Costières de Nîmes) and the Rhône Valley (Côtes du Luberon). Because it ripens late, Vermentino requires a warm climate for its development and can only be grown in regions with good sun exposure. Conversely, cold or temperate climates do not allow it to ripen properly. Vermentino is only susceptible to powdery mildew. When vinified on its own, Vermentino produces a single-variety dry white wine that is light and full-bodied with a pale yellow color. It can also be blended with other grape varieties such as Ugni Blanc, Cinsault and Grenache, in which case its low acidity makes it light and fresh. Vermentino belongs to the grape varieties of Ajaccio, Corsica and Corbières. The aromas released by this variety are multiple. One can detect notes of fresh apple, green almond, sweet spices, hawthorn, ripe pear and fresh pineapple.

The top pink wines of Château Musar

Food and wine pairings with a pink wine of Château Musar

How Château Musar wines pair with each other generally quite well with dishes of beef such as recipes of simple baked roast beef.

Organoleptic analysis of pink wines of Château Musar

On the nose the pink wine of Château Musar. often reveals types of flavors of cream, spices or non oak and sometimes also flavors of earth, microbio or vegetal.

The best vintages in the pink wines of Château Musar

  • 2005With an average score of 4.30/5
  • 2007With an average score of 4.30/5
  • 2008With an average score of 4.19/5
  • 2004With an average score of 4.07/5
  • 2006With an average score of 4.00/5
  • 2015With an average score of 3.80/5

The grape varieties most used in the pink wines of Château Musar.

  • Cinsault
  • Cinsaut
  • Mourvedre

The word of the wine: Cord

Management of trellised vines.

Discover other wineries and winemakers neighboring the Château Musar

Planning a wine route in the of Bekaa Valley? Here are the wineries to visit and the winemakers to meet during your trip in search of wines similar to Château Musar.

Discover the grape variety: Cinsaut

Cinsaut noir is a grape variety that originated in France (Provence). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by large bunches and large grapes. Cinsaut noir can be found in several vineyards: South-West, Cognac, Bordeaux, Provence & Corsica, Rhône valley, Languedoc & Roussillon, Loire valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais, Armagnac.

News about Château Musar and wines from the region

Walls: Counoise spreads its wings

It’s easy to forget that the southern Rhône’s four most prevalent red varieties aren’t indigenous. Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre all appear to originate from Spain; Syrah made its way down the river from the northern Rhône. Of the long tail of other grapes, most have their roots closer to home. Plantings have dwindled in recent years, but today local varieties are experiencing renewed interest. One that’s finding a lot of fans – both in the Rhône and further afield – is Counoise. Scroll down ...

Garage Wine Company launches Old-Vine ‘Revival’ project in UK

Winemaker Derek Mossman Knapp, of Chile’s Garage Wine Company, introduced the group’s ‘Old-Vine Revival’ project in the UK this month. This included a first UK tasting of its new-release Old-Vine Revival País 2021 wine. Garage Wine Company’s Maule-based project focuses on producing wine from previously-neglected old vines, while at the same time supporting local farming communities. Born out of the Covid pandemic, the initiative enabled farmers to work in their local vineyards, which also elimin ...

Serving Thanksgiving wine: Expert tips

Thanksgiving is an excuse to indulge in the company of your family – and Thanksgiving 2021 will likely see even more indulgence than normal as people celebrate getting together again at this time of year. So pull out your best bottles and follow these top wine serving tips for a successful Thanksgiving. Serve red wines at 16-18°C (61-65°F) Your full-bodied California Cabernet or Brunello di Montalcino may be described as at the peak of its powers when served at ‘room temperature’. However, ...

The word of the wine: Cord

Management of trellised vines.