La Zouch Coffee House Restaurant & Cellars, 2 Kilwardby Street, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 2FQ
Telephone & Fax: 01530 412536     Email: wineandwhisky@lazouch.co.uk

OPENING HOURS: Closed Sunday Evening and All Day Monday
Opening Times: Tuesday to Saturday 9:00am, Sunday 11:00am
Last Orders: Tuesday & Wednesday 6:00pm, Thursday & Friday 9:00pm, Saturday 7:00pm, Sunday 4.00pm

Copyright © 2016 La Zouch Coffee House Restaurant & Cellars All rights reserved

Vinification:

A rainy winter- according to records it was the rainest for 15 years- from mid April on wards not a drop of rain fell and it was hot and sunny. Flowering started in May, a 10day heatwave reduced the harvest quantity by about 30%. This phenomenon was responsible for the concentration of sugar and acidity in the grapes.

July and August were not as hot as they used to be in years gone by and certainly not as hot as it was in Europe in 2003.

The harvest started on 4th September and the grapes were very healthy with good maturity and ripeness.

The fermentation temperature was controlled between 21 and 30 degrees Celsius with 2 pump-overs per day to increase extraction, with a long maceration: about 3 weeks.

Malo-lactic fermentation followed immeadiately and by November all of the wines had completed their malo-lactic fermentation and had been racked.

Even at this stage the wines were showing an abubdance in tannins, acidity and colour.

The wines spent 9 months in cement vats and then a year in French nevers oak barrels. The three varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan which had been kept separately were very fragrant showing highly constrasting aromas. Reflecting the ripeness of the grapes and the concentration of sugar and acidity that make this harvest unique., they were well balanced and richly textured, with soft tannins The final blend rested for another 9 months in vats before being bottled and transferred to the Chateau Musar cellars high in the mountains at Ghazir to begin its journey of maturation and development.

Grapes and vines

Seven years in the making, Chateau Musar Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from vineyards near the Bekaa Valley villages of Aana and Kefraya on gravelly soils over limestone. Planted from the 1930s onwards, yields are low from these mature bushvines (average age: 40 years): 35hl per hectare.

Winemaking

The varietal components in Chateau Musar Red undergo lengthy fermentations in cement vats at temperatures below 30°C. 6 months after the harvest they are transferred into French barrels (oak from the forest of Nevers) for one year.

Blending

The varietal components are brought together two years after the harvest; the resulting blend is then placed back in cement tanks before being bottled 12 months later. Each wine is blended to reflect the character of the vintage. After 4 years’ bottle maturation in the deep stone cellars of Chateau Musar, the finished wines are released a full seven years after the harvest.

Winery information:

The Hochar family’s philosophy of respect for the environment means that the 180 hectares of Musar vineyards are managed with minimal human interference and all the wines are made as naturally.

Chateau Musar was the first producer in Lebanon to achieve organic certification for its vineyards. Most are located in the Bekaa Valley, cradled between two mountain ranges running parallel to Lebanon’s Mediterranean coastline. Vines have been cultivated here for at least 6,000 years: the Phoenicians (seafaring ancestors of the modern Lebanese) were instrumental in bringing vines and wines from Byblos across to all of the areas around the Mediterranean.

This wine is the ‘Grands Vins’, each with their unique signature and imprint in the world of wine. Since 1930, every aspect of production – grape sourcing, fermentation, oak-ageing and bottle maturation – has been trialed to achieve the ultimate expression of Musar’s specific ‘terroirs’ (site-specific interactions of soil, vine, climate and time).

A guide to the style

In youth, Chateau 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. We still offer wines from the 1950s: mesmerising artefacts of vintage.

Flanked by snow-covered mountains, and nestled at 1000m (3,000 feet) above sea level, the serenely beautiful Bekaa Valley is blessed with 300 days of sunshine a year, fresh mountain breezes and an average temperature of 25°C (encompassing snowy winters and hot summers). Remote and unspoilt, the Musar vineyards were ‘organic’ by default before the term was coined.

All the grapes are hand-harvested by local Bedouins between August and October.  In the winery, ambient yeasts do the work of fermentation. The bare minimum of sulphur is used and the Chateau Musar wines are neither fined nor filtered.

Tasting Note:
A deep intense ruby in colour, with a complex, intriguing array of aromas – toasted bread,cigar box, fresh tea, plums and Eastern spices.On the palate, there are mature fruits: plums, figs and cherries with hints of tea leaves and dark chocolate.
The wine is intense , the first taste releasing complex notes of currants, cherries and spice. The structure is light and airy, blending Chateau Musar’s classic fruit flavours with a hint of game, finishing with a cleansing acidity.
Full-bodied powerful with great length the defining characteristics of 2003

Storage:

To keep the wines showing at their best, bottles must be cellared in darkness, lying on their sides and not subjected to unnecessary movement or fluctuations in temperature.

Food Recommendation:

Decanting and serving

Bottled unfined and unfiltered, Chateau Musar Reds are suitable for vegans (fining agents often contain animal proteins); they’re also richly-textured and likely to ‘throw a crust’. This is a common feature of most fine wines and is especially true of Musar Red vintages over a decade old. Ideally, bottles should be stood up the night before opening to settle any sediment. After careful decanting (and discarding of sediment, usually in the last centimetre of the bottle) the wine should be allowed to breathe for several hours and served at 18°C with roasts, grills (especially lamb), casseroles, game, and mature cheeses.

Bin No.: 1814

Country: Lebanon

Region: Bekka Valley

Producer: Chateau Musar

Vintage: 2003 Vintage

Colour: Red

Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon

Grape Varieties: Carignan, Cinsault

Status: Still, Organic Certification,
Status: Vegetarian, Vegan

Allergens: contains sulphites

Body Value: E   (A is light, E is full bodied)

abv: 14.0%     Bottle size: 75cl

Chateau Musar Red
2003 Vintage
Cellars: £29.50
Enjoy in the restaurant: £36.00