Château Musar

The Chateau Musar Winery was established by Gaston Hochar in 1930 in Ghazir, Lebanon located about 15 miles north of Beirut. Chateau Musar vineyards are located in the Beqaa Valley where classic French red and white grape varieties are planted. The Chateau Masur red wines are made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache, and Mourvèdre in varying amounts depending on the vintage while their whites are made mainly from Obaideh (related to Chardonnay) and Merwah (related to Sémillon). Our Chateau Masur reviews indicate that while these wines are often compared to those of Bordeaux or even the Rhone, that they are quite unique in character as they are made in a natural wine style with significant bottle variation. In 1959, Gaston’s son Serge took over the winemaking operations after studying oenology at the University of Bordeaux. Chateau Musar wines gained international recognition at the Bristol Wine Fair of 1979 when Michael Broadbent and Roger Voss (now European Editor for Wine Enthusiast) selected the 1967 Chateau Musar as the "Find of the Fair”. Even with the challenges of Lebanon’s Civil War (1975-1990) our Chateau Masur ratings illustrate the perseverance of Serge Hochar and his winery as they were unable to produce wines in only two of the vintages during that span, 1976 and 1984.