2021 Massaya Blanc, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

ABOUT THIS WINE

Made from a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Obeïdi, a grape indigenous to the Bekaa Valley, this is a lithe yet supple unoaked white with notes of spiced pear and white flowers.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Every start-up enterprise needs a helping hand, and from its early days Massaya has been fortunate to have the support of two distinguished French winemakers. Sami Ghosn made the connection in 1998, first with Dominique Hebrard in Bordeaux and then with the brothers Frederic and Daniel Brunier, whose Vieux Télégraphe estate is one of the most renown in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Both Hebrard, who now heads an estate in Saint Emilion called Chateau Trianon, and the Brunier brothers came to Tanaïl and were fascinated by the Beqaa terroir and impressed by the work Sami and Ramzi Ghosn were doing. They recognized that Massaya was on the threshold of success and became both advisors and investors – from the start the Ghosns insisted on having them as investors to anchor a long-term collaboration.

Far from being limited to the role of financers, the French were quickly involved in the whole process of winemaking and wine commercialization. Over the years the relationship has evolved from business to complicity.

Now Frederic and Daniel are gradually passing on the leadership to the fifth generation of the Brunier family, Manon, Nicolas and Edouard, who joined the family enterprise around 2015.