2006 Chateau Musar Bekaa Valley Lebanon 750 ml

You don’t need to know much about Lebanese wine, but you need to know Musar. Known as the “Lafite of Lebanon,” Musar is the standard-bearer of Middle Eastern wine, and the only one poured at The French Laundry, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, and countless other fine-dining restaurants. 

Since Wine Access members claimed every case of our last three offers of Musar, the winery has given us an exclusive first shot at the perfectly aged 2006 Château Musar, which comes straight from their cellars and is ready to be enjoyed the minute it arrives on your doorstep.  

This is Musar as it was meant to be, and for collectors of Bordeaux, old-school Rioja, or other European reds, it’s a dream bottle. When Decanter tasted it less than two years ago, they called it “lifted and refreshing, with plenty of primary, delicate red fruit characters, and fine tannins on the finish,” saying it’s “drinking beautifully now.” 

Having spent a cool decade-plus in the château cellars, the 2006 shows a light garnet hue, appealing spice on the nose with currant and dried cranberry, and fresh red fruits with a zesty and mineral drive. Its gorgeous development is apparent in the licorice, leather, and cedar that come to the forefront, and in its fine-grained, well-integrated tannins. With the earthy, umami energy that Musar is known for, and the mineral cut of a Left Bank Bordeaux-meets-Gran Reserva Rioja, this is a perfect example of Musar, and it’s ready to drink right now, or can go another decade in the cellar. 

Long crafted by the beloved late winemaker Serge Hochar, the first-ever Decanter Man of the Year, Musar’s legend transcends the world of wine. One of the most famous stories involving Musar took place during the Lebanese civil war, when Serge found himself in his Beirut apartment during an intense shelling. As shrapnel burst through the window on the floor below him, Hochar became certain that this would be his last night on earth. So he opened a bottle of 1972 Musar, poured the wine into a Baccarat glass, and sipped it over the course of twelve intense hours. 

Finally, the attack ended. The next day, Hochar was short one bottle of Château Musar. But he still had his life, and he still had the spirit that drove him to make wine, undeterred by the fifteen-year civil war that ravaged his country. That spirit lives on in every bottle of this storied wine.   

Château Musar leapt onto the international scene in 1979, appraised by legendary Christie’s wine director Michael Broadbent as the “find” of the Bristol Wine Fair. Though it may have been a find, Château Musar was not a newcomer—they had been producing show-stopping wine from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley since 1930. But Lebanon’s raging civil war forced them to find new markets internationally, and not long after they turned their focus abroad, the critics, sommeliers, and global wine community were all enthralled.

At Musar, 100-year-old vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Carignan benefit from 300 days of sunshine a year, cool nights, limestone soils and 4,000 feet of elevation. And although Serge passed away in 2014, he left behind the singular winemaking philosophy that earned the château a cult following. He was a natural winemaker long before it was trendy, embracing a non-interventionist approach and using ambient yeasts, creating wines with impossible-to-copy vivacity, energy, and earthiness.

Musar is always a conversation piece, and will certainly be one of the most fascinating selections in your entire cellar—but a bottle that comes to you already perfectly aged might never make it down there. Whether you age it longer or share it right away, cracking the 2006 Musar will be a special experience.