Chateau Musar Rouge 2014, Bekaa Valley

The concentration of fruit is clear as soon as you pour a glass, it's a deep red colour with sweet, ripe dark-cherry fruit, spice and warming French oak, it's hard to believe this wine already has 7 years under its belt. The palate is warm, rounded and concentrated, dark berry fruit, spice, oak, star anise and hints of coffee are all in the mix, these are destined to become more pronounced as this wine continues to evolve in the bottle.

The richness of the cabernet sauvignon and carignan, who's thirst was never quite quenched whilst on the vine, is balanced by the cinsault and results in a smooth, rounded, delicately spicy finish with hints of tobacco leaf and warmth.

This is a wine which will understandably be enjoyed by many as soon as it arrives in their cellars, however if you are disciplined enough to tuck this away for 5-10 years or more you will be in for a real treat.

With the challenging conditions 2014 was such an important year for this legendary estate, even more so with the passing of the highly respected, multi award-winning winemaker Serge Hochar.