Massaya Terrasses de Baalbeck 2021

An enticing, Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, ruby red in colour with an attractive nose of bright red fruit characters, overlaid with sunny herbal notes. The palate is smooth and well-balanced with great length.

2021 - 14.5% abv

The name relates to the vineyards that Massaya has developed in the foothills of Mount Lebanon in the Hadath Baalbeck area, overlooking Baalbeck and its Roman temple to Bacchus. The altitude here is more than 1,000 metres above sea level. The soil is chalky clay and the vines are 20 years old on average.

The hand-picked grapes are sorted on tables and fully destemmed. The grapes are vinified for 20-30 days in temperature-controlled oak vats, and the wine was matured in oak foudres for 18 months before being bottled, unfined and unfiltered.

MASSAYA: The Ghosn brothers, Sami and Ramzi, were determined to realize their dream by bringing to life great wines at their Tanail Property. To do this they decided to bring in priceless know-how to one of the world's oldest wine producing regions.

On 27 May, 1998, a partnership was formed with an ambition to produce a world class Lebanese wine in the Bekaa Valley. It brought together The Ghosn brothers - Sami and Ramzi - and Dominique Hebrard, owner of Chateau Trianon (and previous owner of Ch Cheval Blanc) and the Brunier brothers, Daniel and Frederic, co-proprietor at Le Vieux Telegraphe.

The new wine was to have a limited annual production and it was to be called Massaya, named after the time of day when twilight sets on the vineyard and the sky turns purple as the sun sets behind Mount-Lebanon.

This prestigious Franco-Lebanese collaboration has united great men of wine and created optimum conditions for making great wine, taking advantage of the exceptional soil in the Bekaa.

The vineyards of the Tanail Estate are located at an altitude of 1000 meters above sea level in the Bekaa Valley, where the slopes are protected by Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Free of frost and disease, the Bekaa Valley enjoys a unique climate with long gentle summers, wet winters and an average temperature of 25 degrees that is perfect for viticulture.