Most of Château Musars vineyards are located in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, cradled between two mountain ranges. Vines have been cultivated here for at least 6,000 years: the Phoenicians were instrumental in bringing vines and wines from Byblos across to all of the areas around the Mediterranean. In youth, Château Musar Reds are dense and richly-textured, with intense ‘baked fruit’ characters: plums, damsons, cranberries, cherries, figs and dates. Bordeaux grape Cabernet Sauvignon lends black fruit flavours; Rhône grapes Cinsault and Carignan contribute fragrance (violets; pepper) and supple spiciness. Either set of qualities might dominate a particular vintage, but the style is always emphatically Lebanese: enticingly aromatic, with persistent fruit flavours. Over decades the wines acquire tawny hues and mellow notes.