In 1930, inspired by Lebanon's 6,000 year winemaking history as well as his travels to Boreaux, Gaston Hochar founded Chateau Musar, and over the next several generations, established a world-renowned Asian wine. Today, Gaston's grandsons, Gaston and Marc, along with their cousins Ronald and Ralph, continue his legacy and run the day-to-day operations alongside long-time winemaker and viticulturist Tarek Sakr. Chateau Musar’s organic vineyards are located in Kefraya and Aana, both in the Bekka Valley, as well as a new site in Mehrine. The winery itself is located in Ghazir, just north of Beirut. Grapes are hand harvested by local Beouins in the early morning hours before being transported to the family's winery at Ghazir, which is carved into the mountainside. Château Musar practices a non-interventionist style of winemaking, with natural fermentations, minimal sulfur usage, and no fining or filtering. Their Blanc, produced from ancient, indigenous grape varieties Obaideh and Merwah, has incredible aging potential—often being described as "dry Sauternes" or compared to white Rioja. It is fermented in French oak barrels for 9 months before going through a staggering 7 year bottle maturation. Concentrated and complex, with apple, fresh hay, macadamia, vanilla, neroli, and sweet basil, with mouth-watering acidity and buzzy energy. 13.0% ABV
