CHATEAU MUSAR & YEMENI CHICKEN
AGED WHITE WINE?
There is nothing like a sumptuous, aged white wine. The vast majority are not meant to be aged—but the exceptions include Montrachet and high-end Chardonnays, particularly from Burgundy, France; also the wonderful Savennières wine from the Loire Valley, crafted from Chenin Blanc.
Chateau Musar’s white, made from Lebanese grapes grown in the Bekaa valley, can be aged for decades. The 1964 vintage is available commercially, and we own one bottle of 1989.
It is a wonderful, sophisticated wine.
The two grapes, Obaideh and Merwah, may be too closely related to Chardonnay and Sémillon (Bordeaux white grapes) to be truly indigenous to Lebanon, but this wine does not taste like anything French, although it resembles Savennières in character.
WHAT ABOUT CHATEAU MUSAR RED WINE?
Read more here about the Chateau Musar red wine—our favorite red wine EVER—and the Bekaa Valley where its Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan grapes grow (nearby the white grapes), and read about the dangers these winemakers have faced growing grapes so close to war-torn Syria.
Let’s learn about the wine, and then show you the recipe for the spicy Yemeni chicken I made to pair with the Musar.
“[My white wines] are more serious than my reds and their dimensions are way bigger than any of my reds.”
PATRICK’S TASTING NOTES
The winery’s vintage notes appear below.
Let’s start with that 2007 Chateau Musar White.
This is a rich, robust wine with tons of warm notes.
PLEASE remember to allow decanting time! After decanting the wine for at least an hour, it comes alive. At first it’s funky, this is to be expected with an age-potential white.
These wines are designed for aging. It boasts a robust palate of quince paste, pears, subtle Indian spices and finishes with pith from the sweetest grapefruit. This wine loves spicy food! I agree with winery founder Serge Hochar, 1939-2014, and his feelings; “My whites are my first reds, they are to be served at room temperature, they will go with more foods than any of my reds, they are more serious than my reds and their dimensions are way bigger than any of my reds.”
“I disagree that you should “serve at room temperature.”
Rather, you should serve it at cellar temperature.
Room temperature, for starters, means different things to different people. Serving ANY wine at 76F is way too warm! Cellar temperature is generally 58-60F.
And, over-chilling this wine will dumb down the flavors.
This wine can age for decades. The 2008 was reviewed by famed wine critic Jancis Robinson in 2018. She suggested waiting until 2020 and, if patient enough, leave some in the cellar as long as 2035.
Yemini Inspired Chicken
This is a super simple dish; it’s about the method and your taste buds guiding you.
Ingredients and Method
3 Chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces — pan sear on med-high heat with ghee until starting to brown, remove chicken from pan
1 large sweet onion, sliced thin. Using same pan, add onions and some chicken broth to deglaze. Sauté over medium heat until starting to turn soft and opaque.
1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper, julienned. Add peppers to sautéing onions and continue to sauté until starting to soften.
Add olive oil as needed. When onions and peppers are done, add chicken back in. About ¼ cup Zhoug sauce (this is a Trader Joe’s sauce inspired by Yemeni cuisine). Note this is a very vibrant spicy sauce - use judiciously.
Sour cream, basically use this to add some creaminess to the sauce, maybe a quarter cup, but you get to decide.
Adjust with salt.
Arugula: stir in a few hands-full and keep tossing it with the chicken mixture until it wilts.
Lemon juice: Squeeze the juice of a half a lemon to give it that touch of extra zing right before serving over rice. We served Tabbouli on the side.
2007 CHATEAU MUSAR WHITE — VINTAGE NOTES
from Chateau Musar
“2007 was a year of unpredictable weather patterns. The winter was quite normal until 25th January when snow suddenly stopped falling on the high mountains. The temperature continued to increase until mid-March and then another winter arrived with more snow falling until the beginning of April. On the 20th April after flowering had started, there was a sudden frost which damaged some young leaves. May was sunny and fresh and then a 3 week heat-wave struck in August adding yet another unusual dimension to the harvest this year. The Obaideh & Merwah were both in excellent condition in 2007, in fact one of the best years ever for these two varieties which we predict will have very good ageing potential. The Obaideh had very aromatic fragrant grape juice turning to a very fruity, fresh wine with citrus leaves, peaches and pears. The Merwah had a complexity of fruits and aromas, fermented in oak barriques with a longer maturation period.
“The Chateau Musar White 2007 is a beautifully balanced wine with good fresh lemon acidity, tropical fruit flavours on the palate and an elegant finish.“