The Legacy lives on

With the third generation at the helm, Chateau Musar of Lebanon faces challenges and triumphs alike with aplomb.

- Nimmi Malhotra

Had there been no war in Lebanon, probably the story of Chateau Musar would not be as it is today,” says Ralph Hochar, the third-generation custodian of the winery. For the last 89 years, Chateau Musar has crafted wines with a unique Lebanese signature. That the country has been in a constant state of war and turmoil hasn’t stopped the winery. With the exception of two vintages — the 1976 and 1984, the wines have been produced every year, shells and war irrespective.

Chateau Musar’s flagship red is moody, imperfect, and yet, intense and memorable. “When people opened a bottle in New York or Tokyo, they were uncorking conflict. There was a whiff of war in every bottle of wine that they opened,” says Michael Karam, author of “Wines of Lebanon”, in the documentary War and Wine (2020) which focused on wines of the Middle East. If anything, war has inadvertently framed its success.

THE ROAD TO ACCLAIM 

Wine has deep roots in Lebanon, dating back to 6000 years. Gaston Hochar revived winemaking when he laid down vineyards in Lebanon in the 1930s. His son, the late Serge Hochar, studied oenology under Émile Peynaud, took over the winemaking in 1960 and added his unique imprint on the wine. As the civil war raged over the land in 1970 and local wine sales dropped by 90%, Serge and his brother, Ronald, brought the wines to London in suitcases to find an international market for their labour of love. Famously, at the Bristol Wine Fair of 1979, acclaimed wine critic Michael Broadbent awarded Chateau Musar 1967 the top prize, and the cult status was born.