Lebanese-Israeli wine tasting

[Andre]

There are two kinds of people in the wine industry, those who respect and worship the land and those who abuse it as a money-producing mechanism.

Driving from Haifa to Beirut, during the 30’s and 40’s used to take a little over three hours. Today it may take you days with as little chance as crossing the Bronx Bruce Willis way. The wines tasted were bought in Germany, London and France.

Cabernet Ksara 1999[ Lebanon ]

A magnificent start for this tasting. Definitely not another new world Cabernet but rather a medium to full bodied wine rich with cassis and dried plums with an excellent use of oak and a beautifully balanced spicy-earthy finish.

Drink now or within five years.

Chateau Ksara 1998 [ Lebanon ]

A very good expression of this winery and the wine maker of what a skilful blending is. Grape varieties: 60% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot . A rather young wine still developing and maybe best open in a couple of years, yet it proved complex with plenty red sour fruits, and spices. Enough acidity and tannins to keep on going 10 more years.

From the words of Ksara’s export manager Elie Maamari:

- This vintage could be aged for at least 10 to 15 years and could be consumed at this stage because it just started opening.

Elul 2001, Sea-Horse 2001 [israel ]

A skilful and smooth drinking blend by winemaker Zeev Dunyi. 78% Cabernet 20% Merlot and 2% Syrah aged for one year in 1-2 year old casks.

This pleasant drinking wine seemed to be somehow diluted after the Ksara start. Drink now.

Chateau Kefraya 1998 [Lebanon ]

Another Lebanese winery named after its village. Like the rest of the Lebanese wine producers, the wineries are private and in this case are attended solely by the people of chateau Kefraya.

The wine turned out to be massive with lots of dried fruits, sweet tobacco, vanilla and spices. A beautiful balance of the following grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Carignan, Cinsaut and Syrah.

Massive yet, charming.

Castel 1999 [israel ]

Over oaked wines are currently the trend in Israel. The leader of long maturation in French Barique is no doubt Castel. Although young, the 24 months maturation in new oak leaves little room for fruity flavors or whatever else the grape may be characterized by. These professionally made wines seem more of an advertisement for the famous Seguin Morreau of Cognac than an expression of whatever soil the grapes are derived from.

Chateau Kefraya 1995 [ Lebanon ]

An absolute masterpiece at its peak

The beautifully complex nose ranges between cherry blossom to sweet tobacco with a slight anisette aroma hovering gracefully. The artistic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Syrah Carignan and Grenache certainly displays perfect marriage at this age. The mouth is filled with an elegant and complex cassis, dried plums, leather, tobacco, minerals, nutmeg and herbs, in such a manner, it seems like any tasting note should step aside and let the imagination reign.

Will keep for 3-5 more years though I would suggest drinking now.

Cabernet Meishar 1997 [ Isreal ]

Haya and Zeev Smilansky, the owners of this garage winery, possess such positive energies that they are bound to be reflected in their wines. This hot climate Southern Israeli Cabernet may have enjoyed more intense years, yet I would not skip this experience if I could. Gentle and smooth tannins pave the palate for a well-rounded dried fruit and earthy wine of medium body, pleasant though not complex. Don’t expect much and you might enjoy. Drink now.

Chateau Musar 1995 [ Lebanon ]

For many Israelis, Lebanon might signify many different things beginning from the famous Arak and ending with the thriving Hashish industry supplying its more than eager customers in Israel. The location of Chateau Musar in Ghazir, 15 miles north of Beirut. Will undoubtedly ring a very unpleasant bell of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s venture to this middle-eastern sidewalk in 1982. After tasting the wine, the group of tasters present that evening, argued that it was very much worth holding onto.

Unique and distinctive, Chateau Musar was a league on his own. This is certainly a great vintage for Musar with dominant mouth filling flavors of very ripe plums, black cherries and forest berries aged skillfully in oak with a touch of aldehyde, traces of the all natural production methods Chateau Musar is rightly proud of. A long distance runner.

Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection, Tsora 1995 [ Israel ]

Though Orange Brownish in Color this 32 months older oak aged wine, provides a stunning and complex nose of dried apricots, shelled almonds, and sweet tobacco. Breathing the developing bouquet slowly reveals the Peacocks beautiful tail. The taste again seems shallow and over the hill [ 12% alcohol ] compared to the Lebanese counterparts.

Worth every sniff you can afford.

Chateau Musar 1988 [ Lebanon ]

When I opened the wine, nearly 4 hours prior to the tasting, the cork broke leaving a tiny peace of its edge in the bottle’s neck. By the time I took a deep breath and tried to maneuver the piece out when an objecting hiss was heard and the remaining cork simply dived into the wine. When later tasting what turned out to be the highlight of this wonderful tasting, I thought to myself that there was no better way to go…

Another excellent vintage expressed in an admiring way. Fruits, minerals and oak had joined in to create one of those rare combinations truly great Bordeaux wines are blessed with. The aromas range from sweet cherries to allspice.

A unique experience now that will continue to be so one or two more years.

Glasses were raised to the Hochar family’s health – Suhetku.

At this stage, father Na’aman, a Lebanese priest currently serving the tiny Greek-Catholic Christian community of Haifa, who kindly accepted my invitation to join the tasting, raised his glass and prayed that in the same manner, the wonderful wines of Lebanon and Israel came together to form a unique wine tasting, may the whole region come together under everlasting peace.

Amen to that, father.

Edited November 17, 2003 by Andre (log)

[Craig Camp]

Great stuff Andre, fascinating. Thanks for sharing this information which would certainly be difficult for most of us to find or experience.

[Andre]

Thank you very much.

[Fat Guy]

Beautiful tasting notes, Andre. Can you just do a quick recap to clarify which wines are from which country? There were a couple that I couldn't place.

My own experience of drinking the Israeli cabernets, like the Yarden selection from the Golan Heights Vineyard, is that they're dead ringers for California cabernets -- and I assume that's intentional. I don't consider that to be good news. Whereas, the Lebanese wines I've had -- actually I've only had Musar, I think -- have been much more in the Old World style, which I prefer.

[primowino]

Thanks for the notes. I have drunk Kefraya and Musar and always been impressed and I believe Ksara is equally reliable. Kefraya make a pretty good second wine (Les Breteches) which is cheaper and good value, but a word of warning about Musar's second wine (Hochar), I have had two different vintages and I find it a very thin wine with some strange flavours going on. I can't remember if it has some indigenous grape varieties with the bordeaux grapes, but unlike Chateau Musar it tastes nothing like red bordeaux.

[Andre]

recap performed.

And to think that I ignored Craig's Tasting Notes request pinned at the top that waqs intended for exactly cases like these.

Second labels can be decieving for any winery. There are several varietals used by each winery while a small percentage will be used to make the frist label blend. The rest is up to the wine makers experimenal habits and money making requirements.

There are many winerys shooting themseleves in the leg with their second or third labels.

[ctgm]

I have drunk Kefraya and Musar and always been impressed and I believe Ksara is equally reliable.

I recently had the Musar 1996, which I believe was a difficult vintage, and found it impossible to drink and ended up throwing it away. It was thin, acidic and green. Was this a bad bottle? I haven't been enclined to try another bottle.

Also I have a couple of bottles of 1979/1983 Musar in my cellar. I remember having a bottle a few years ago and finding it a bit past it. Does anyone have any views on this as it is just gathering dust at the moment.

[Andre]

I have drunk Kefraya and Musar and always been impressed and I believe Ksara is equally reliable.

I recently had the Musar 1996, which I believe was a difficult vintage, and found it impossible to drink and ended up throwing it away. It was thin, acidic and green. Was this a bad bottle? I haven't been enclined to try another bottle.

Also I have a couple of bottles of 1979/1983 Musar in my cellar. I remember having a bottle a few years ago and finding it a bit past it. Does anyone have any views on this as it is just gathering dust at the moment.

I would not age them one bit further though they should be barely drinkable. You can keep them as monuments of a historical start or boom of this region.

To generalize, I would not push the aging of these wines over 15 years. The fact that they are composed from several grape verieties can result in a pleasant surprise but I would not count on it.

Both the 1983 and 1979 should be open 2 - 3 hours before consumption and no decanter recommended.

The 1996 was thinner than the 1995 but I would suspect that your wine did not travell well.

[primowino]

I have spoken to a couple of Musar stockists in the UK about older vintages, I was particularly interested in 1979, and was warned away because each vintage is released to the market in batches. Older vintages are therefore likely to have been stored for several years in Lebanon or an adjacent country and storage conditions are very variable.

I have a couple of bottles of the 1995 and will leave a WTN when I try one soon.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Chateau Musar 1995 [ Lebanon ]

For many Israelis, Lebanon might signify many different things beginning from the famous Arak and ending with the thriving Hashish industry supplying its more than eager customers in Israel. The location of Chateau Musar in Ghazir, 15 miles north of Beirut. Will undoubtedly ring a very unpleasant bell of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s venture to this middle-eastern sidewalk in 1982. After tasting the wine, the group of tasters present that evening, argued that it was very much worth holding onto.

It is also worth drinking now - what a fabulous wine this is and I have enjoyed it every time I've been lucky enough to find one. This year is one of my favorite Musars...

[docsconz]

I had dinner with Gaston Hochar of Chateau Musar last year. He is very proud of his older vintages and their aging. He was supposed to send me some including from my birth year, but never did so I can't speak from personal experience. His wines are certainly unique with a personality all their own. I love them. I also think that Hochar, the second wine is good and an excellent value for around $16.