Château Musar Serge Hochar 2002

Lot presentation

Château Musar Serge Hochar 2002

The wine

The Château Musar red is characterised by its complexity and fullness, and is the result of a long ageing process that lasts between 12 to 15 months in French oak barrels. It is blended in the third year and only sold in its seventh! Powerful and well-balanced, its full potential is only unleashed after around fifteen years. It is characterised by ripe red berries, cedar wood and smoky notes. Its texture is rich and silky.

The vineyards of Château Musar are located at 1,000 metres of altitude on the fertile plain of Bekaa whose slopes are sheltered by Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains. With no frost, freezes or disease, the Bekaa plain enjoys an exceptional climate with long, warm summers and rainy winters with average temperatures of 25°C. Rainfall is around 500 mm of water per year, similar to that of Bordeaux. Red grape varieties here are similar to those found in France (Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault) but white varieties are local (Obeideh and Merwah, not dissimilar to Chardonnay and Sémillon). White grape vineyards are found in the Mount Lebanon mountain range. Returning to Lebanon after a long trip to France in 1930, Gaston Hochar founded the Château Musar in the cellars of the "Mzar" castle perched on the Ghazir hill and overlooking the Mediterranean. His eldest son Serge had acquired a oenology qualification in Bordeaux, and joined him in the industry in 1959. His youngest son Ronald took care of marketing and finances.