Drinking the 2003 Hochar Père et Fils Rosè
In a separate post, I talk about my dinner at Farouge. But I wanted to dedicate a post specifically to the 16 centiliters of wine I tried tonight. Farouge is a Lebanese restaurant; therefore, with my lamb tartare and lamb chops, I wanted to try something from the Bekaa Valley. So, I went for a glass of the 2003 Chateau Musar, their Hochar Père et Fils Rosè to be precise.
Chateau Musar began in 1930 in a town named Ghazir; the vineyards of the Chateau are located in the famed Bekaa Valley, which is where the vast majority of the best Lebanese wine seems to come from. The winery releases a wide spectrum of wines, but the only wine available at Farouge was the 2003 Rosè release. This wine is about $16-$20/bottle in the US, where the 2004 is the current release. The Hochar series of wines is sort of a second label of sorts, although I think the good people at the Chateau would take issue with that assessment.
Okay, the wine. Interesting stuff. Here are my notes:
- Aroma: Butter, mild lemony citrus, petrol at first but that went away quickly. Probably not the best glass to get the full bouquet, unfortunately. Extremely red for a Rosè.
- Flavor: An odd combination of red apples, Bartlett pears, and a hint of the type of maple flavor you get in a tawny port. Flavor clarity is lacking here; the wine has a nice flavor but it’s hard to separate the flavors. The overall effect is weird because red apples and green pears are nice together, but the maple essence and buttery aroma make this wine a confusing experience.
- General impression: Decent wine without food, much more drinkable with food. I had some major garlic with this wine and that was a good combination.
Overall I remain in search of my first Lebanese wine that will really surprise me. This wine was pretty good I guess, but I doubt I’d order it again. For $16-$20/bottle in the US I can get Ramian Estate Grenache, which is superior to this wine for sure.
The wine was fun but the real interest on this evening was the experience of dining upstairs at Farouge. But that’s a different story….