Learning About Lebanese Wines

This year, my husband and I tried our first ever Lebanese wine:
Chateau Musar’s 2001 from winemaker Gaston Hochar. It's a sexy combo of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Cinsault, grapes that has aged beautifully over the last 22 years. It was GORGEOUS.
I can still taste the cherry and tobacco on my tongue.

Here are some very cool things I’ve learned about Chateau Musar and Lebanese wines since:

-Lebanon is one of the oldest wine producing places in the world
-Lebanon was mired in civil war from 1975-1990
-Chateau Musar kept producing wines that entire time
-Chateau Musar’s red is Lebanon’s most celebrated wine according to Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine
-There is a ton of French influence and there are lots of French grape varieties in Lebanon (Cabernet, Merlot, Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache)
-The Beqaa Valley is home to most of the major wineries in Lebanon
-Lebanese wines are still tough to come by in the U.S.
Most wine sites carry either Chateau Musar or Massaya.

Will report back as we try more!