Lebanon

When you pour a glass of Lebanese wine, you're tasting something older than most countries. The Phoenicians traded it across the Mediterranean. Rome wasn't founded yet. Jesuits revived the practice in the 1850s. The Hochar family kept making it through 15 years of civil war.

Few wine stories run this deep. The Reserve Cellar's Lebanese wine collection is anchored by Chateau Musar. The producer that opened the country to the world.

What is Lebanon's most famous wine?

Chateau Musar, without question. The estate sits at the edge of Beirut. The vineyards lie an hour inland in the Bekaa Valley. Founded in 1930. Made internationally famous by Serge Hochar. He trained in Bordeaux. He took over in 1959. His 1967 vintage was named the discovery of the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair by critic Michael Broadbent. Musar has been on serious lists ever since.

What is Chateau Musar?

Chateau Musar is a French-influenced wine made on Middle Eastern soil. The flagship red blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan. It ages seven years in the cellar before release, then keeps going for decades in the bottle. What really sets it apart, though, is the story. Lebanon's civil war ran from 1975 to 1990. Musar made wine through almost all of it. Only the 1976 vintage was lost. Serge Hochar called his 1982 "a pure wine of war." Pickers harvested between shellings. The wine carries that weight.

What grapes are used in Lebanese wine?

Mostly French. Jesuit monks brought them in the 1850s. Cinsault is the most-planted grape in the country. It thrives in the Bekaa's hot days and cool nights. Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Syrah and Grenache fill out the rest. The reds dominate. Mediterranean spice. Sun-warmed fruit. A character you won't find in their French cousins. For whites, look for Obeideh and Merwah. Two old native grapes a new generation is finally bottling on their own.

Wine from Lebanon doesn't taste like anywhere else on earth. The Reserve Cellar's Lebanese collection is small, deliberate, and built around the producers worth knowing. Feel Transported.