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Frost, drought or hail is about as tough as it gets for the average grape grower
but in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley it might rain bombs and bullets. How do they cope
and what are the wines like? Martin talks about and tastes Lebanese
wine on the Moncreiff show after 3.15pm on News Talk 106-108FM on May 4th
2007.
Most of the time wine writers
divide the wine world into the New World and the Old World, but such is its
history that Lebanon might
realistically be termed the Ancient World. The Phoenicians were making wine here
5 - 6000 years ago and that predates the Greeks by a few centuries and the
Romans by many more and France by a few millennia. In fact in what might be
considered one of the the world's first examples of wine writing, the story of the water into
wine miracle, as told in the bible, was said to have taken place at Cana in present
day Southern Lebanon.
In modern times (i.e the last
couple of centuries), of course the Muslim influence hasn’t helped but the
ending of Ottoman rule in 1860 dis give the industry a chance to develop. Ksara, whose wines we
will be tasting on the show, was founded by Jesuit brothers in 1857, making 2007
their 150th anniversary.
The end of the civil war in
the early 1990s saw another development spurt, as did the withdrawal of the
Syrians in more recent times. Last year’s war in July and August made things,
shall we say, challenging. Bekaa Valley is between Beirut and the Syrian border,
so more than a few bombs were dropped in an attempt to destroy roads and other
infrastructure. Thankfully, I'm told no vines were hit or cluster bombs dropped,
but preparations for the harvest were disrupted and finding or moving pickers, grapes and supplies around must have
been hard work. Ksara say that because of the port blockade and
then, rightly, priority for relief supplies, they were unable to get any bottles in or
ship any wine out for three months.
Chateau Musar has more
experience than most in coping and is by far the most famous wine producer in
the country. They began when a wine cellar was established in a 17th
century castle in 1930 by the Hochar family in Ghazir, about 15 miles north of
Beirut. Their vineyards, and most of everyone else’s too, are in the Bekaa
Valley, a long valley running down the eastern side of the country with
altitudes of 1000-1400m that is frost and disease free.
Musar’s main wine is a
distinctive old fashioned style made mainly from cabernet, cinsault and
carignan, aged in a mix of vat, then barrel, then vat and then bottle before
release about six years after the harvest. The result is to my taste a bit like
a good old Chateauneuf du pape, rich and silky. We’ll taste the 1999
Ch. Musar, available at Dunnes, Superquinn, a SuperValu, O'Briens and
many independent off-licences, at €23-24. Musar also makes a
range of wines including lower priced second labels, whites and rosés, which, to
be frank, I find it hard to like, as the winemaking philosophy makes them taste
too fruitless and even oxidised at times.
Others working hard to topple
Musar as top dogs include Ksara, Kefraya, Domaine Wardy, Clos St Thomas and Massaya. We’ll
be tasting a Cabernet led Bordeaux style blend, Chateau Ksara 2002, about
€20 in Foleys (Sligo), Gibneys (Malahide), Karwigs (Carigaline), Carvills
(Camden St Dublin 2), Mortons (Salthill)and Mr Macs (Limerick). Finally to show that they do make some
affordable fruity every day wines in Lebanon, we'll look at Ksara
Sunset Rosé 2004, a Cabernet Franc and Syrah blend still showing plenty of youthful fruit, available
at about €12.99 from Molloys (Dublin), Karwigs, Taggarts (Rathgar), Gibneys
and Kelly's in Phibsborough.
Gosh,
I resisted my inclinations to make any jokes about 'Red Leb'! But I will say
don’t get bombed on Lebanese wine, drink in moderation.
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