2018 - Chateau Musar, Aana

Full bottle 1,157 g. Blend of certified organic 55% Cinsault, 35% Grenache, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards near the village of Aana, in the Bekaa Valley, characterised by deep, gravelly soil over a limestone base. Low yields (25–30 hl/ha) result in concentrated wine and the elevation keeps the average yearly temperature at around 25 °C, encompassing cold, snowy winters, mild springs and hot summers. The grapes were fermented at 27–30 °C, with maceration in concrete vats, followed by 6 to 9 months in French Nevers oak barrels. Winemaker Tarek Sakr. Vegan. TA 4.6 g/l, pH 3.26, RS 1.4 g/l. Transparent garnet. Hugely distinctive – that baked-earth, gamey aroma so familiar from other reds from Ch Musar. I can't think of any other producer, including other Lebanese wine producers, who deliver this sort of flavour and transparent colour and rather satisfying dusty, stony structure. Some tasters complain of brett on some Ch Musar wines but I can't see any on this fresh, lively wine that, although it starts rather sweet, ends with a tight twist of liquorice. It's a bit of love or loathe wine but I think it's GV and has quite a future. (JR)