"È stato un anno davvero terribile," dice Mark Gaskain. È settembre 2024 e siamo alla fine di quella che è stata una stagione di crescita difficile in gran parte dell’Europa – con piogge apparentemente senza fine. Fortunatamente, Gaskain sa che tali sfide fanno semplicemente parte del lavoro. È un agricoltore, nato e cresciuto, ora alla guida dell’azienda di famiglia e responsabile della produzione di 70 milioni di mele all’anno. Ma nell’ultimo decennio ha aggiunto un nuovo ramo all’attività – dopo aver venduto un’ampia porzione di terreno nientemeno che a Champagne Taittinger nel 2015. Quel terreno è ora la sede di Domaine Evremond – uno dei progetti di vino inglese più entusiasmanti fino ad oggi. 
 La storia è iniziata quasi un decennio fa. Patrick McGrath – fondatore e CEO di Hatch Mansfield, che rappresenta Champagne Taittinger nel Regno Unito – stava cercando di aggiungere un vino spumante inglese al portafoglio dell’azienda. Erano i primi anni 2010 e lui aveva intravisto un’opportunità in questa categoria nascente – ma Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger suggerì che, invece di acquisire una tenuta esistente, McGrath avrebbe dovuto crearne una propria, lavorando con Taittinger. Taittinger aveva intrapreso un’iniziativa simile in California, creando Domaine Carneros con il loro agente statunitense, Kobrand, sotto la guida dello zio di Pierre-Emmanuel, Claude. Insieme, decisero di fare il grande passo. 
 Affidarono all’esperto di vini inglesi Stephen Skelton il compito di aiutarli a trovare il sito perfetto – che doveva avere terreni gessosi, pendii esposti a sud/sud-ovest (per la massima esposizione al sole) e un’altitudine inferiore ai 100 metri (con la temperatura che diminuisce di 1°C ogni 100m, qualsiasi cosa al di sopra sarebbe stata semplicemente troppo fredda nel clima marginale inglese). Si decise per il Kent – con facile accesso alla Champagne – ma ci vollero 18 mesi per trovare il sito giusto. Allo stesso tempo, i Gaskain stavano valutando la vendita di una parte dei loro terreni (un’avventura nella frutta morbida si era rivelata difficile e volevano tornare al loro core business delle mele). Il tempismo fu fortunato e i frutteti di Stone Stile Farm – intorno al villaggio di Chilham, a sud-ovest di Canterbury – erano perfetti. Come mi disse Alexandre Ponnavoy (Chef de Cave sia per Taittinger che per Evremond), se un sito può produrre buona frutta – è un buon indicatore del suo potenziale viticolo. Nel 2015, l’accordo fu firmato e il progetto lanciato con grande clamore all’Abbazia di Westminster. Domaine Evremond prende il nome da Charles de Saint-Evremond (1614-1703), un francese, saggista e primo ambasciatore dei vini di Champagne – che li portò alla corte di Carlo II – ed è sepolto a Poets’ Corner. Sebbene Didier Pierson – un viticoltore in Champagne – avesse già prodotto vino inglese sotto l’etichetta Meon Hill, Taittinger fu una delle prime grandi Maison di Champagne a investire in Inghilterra (Pommery aveva acquistato vigneti nell’Hampshire nel 2014). Non sorprende che la copertura mediatica fu estesa: i Champenois stavano arrivando per produrre vino spumante sul nostro territorio – e gli scettici francesi avrebbero dovuto ricredersi mentre il mondo iniziava a riconoscere la qualità dello spumante inglese. 
 Le prime viti di Evremond furono piantate nel 2017, con ulteriori aggiunte nel 2020 (il team si stabilì al Premier Inn locale per affrontare il lavoro in piena pandemia) e nel 2024. Il terreno qui presenta uno strato di argilla alluvionale sopra il sottosuolo gessoso che fa parte del bacino di Parigi, condiviso con gran parte del nord della Francia (inclusa la Champagne). Tuttavia, intorno a Canterbury, c’è più selce nel terreno – qualcosa che, secondo Ponnavoy, emerge chiaramente nel vino, conferendogli un carattere minerale e riduttivo. C’è anche una netta influenza marittima – che modera le temperature ma porta anche brezze oceaniche da Whitstable, che dista solo dieci chilometri. Per Ponnavoy, è la combinazione tra i terreni gessosi del sito, la morbidezza marittima e i venti marini – una “climatologia contrastante” – a definire i vini di Evremond. 
 Gaskain è profondamente coinvolto nel progetto – la sua conoscenza approfondita del territorio è una risorsa inestimabile, sapendo ad esempio dove si trovano le sacche di gelo potenziale o dove il terreno potrebbe essere troppo fertile per le viti. Lui e il suo team gestiscono quotidianamente il sito, guidati da Christelle Rinvelle (Direttrice dei vigneti Taittinger). Attualmente hanno 62 ettari di vigneti, suddivisi tra 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir e 10% Meunier. Hanno piantato Chardonnay nelle aree con lo strato di terreno più sottile, consentendo alle radici di accedere quasi direttamente al substrato gessoso, mentre il Pinot Noir e il Meunier si trovano nei lotti più ricchi di argilla e ghiaia. Le viti sono ampiamente distanziate (5.000 viti per ettaro – metà della densità di impianto che Taittinger utilizza in Champagne) e allevate più in alto rispetto all’altra parte della Manica, permettendo una migliore circolazione dell’aria (che aiuta a gestire la pressione delle malattie) e una chioma più ampia (per favorire la maturazione). Sebbene non siano mai stati utilizzati erbicidi e ci sia un impegno concreto verso la sostenibilità, Gaskain è chiaro sui limiti della viticoltura nel Kent: “Il biologico è una follia in questo clima,” mi dice – come forse ha dimostrato il 2024. Sebbene il team disponga di irroratrici specifiche per la vite, Gaskain può anche utilizzare le attrezzature del suo frutteto – un vantaggio quando le condizioni sono difficili – e irrorare l’intero sito in un solo (lungo) giorno. 
 Hanno raccolto quantità minime di frutta nel 2018 e 2019, con la prima vendemmia di dimensioni commerciali proveniente dal 2020 (fortunatamente la vendemmia dell’uva si colloca comodamente tra quella delle Gala e delle Braeburn). I primi vini furono prodotti presso i vicini Simpsons e, dal 2020, si stabilirono in un vecchio fienile di cemento nel sito – con l’intera operazione alimentata da un generatore. Nel giugno 2022, iniziarono i lavori per una nuova cantina (“Eravamo fuori budget quattro settimane dopo l’inizio,” dice McGrath, con un sorriso stanco). La stessa azienda che lavorò al Tunnel della Manica scavò 83.000 tonnellate di gesso (circa 2.000 camion) per far posto all’edificio a tre piani che si estende per 20 metri sotto terra. Progettata dall’architetto di Reims Giovanni Pace, l’idea è che la cantina si integri nel paesaggio – piuttosto che imporsi su di esso. Ha la capacità di immagazzinare 1,5 milioni di bottiglie – tutto senza consumare ulteriore energia per il raffreddamento, grazie al naturale fresco sotterraneo. 
 I lavori sono stati completati in tempo per la vendemmia 2024 – un sollievo indubbiamente per il team. C’è qualcosa di affascinantemente britannico, leggermente improvvisato e da outsider in questa operazione – nonostante i capitali molto seri dietro di essa (finora si parla di 17 milioni di sterline investiti). “Tutti hanno dovuto darsi da fare,” dice McGrath. Potrà essere il CEO di Hatch e uno dei fondatori di Evremond, ma è anche il primo a indossare gli stivali di gomma per aiutare alla vendemmia – e ha trascorso più weekend tra i filari di chiunque altro. Vitalie Taittinger ha preso il posto del padre come Presidente di Taittinger, e la figlia di McGrath, India, gestisce il lato commerciale di Evremond – rendendo l’operazione davvero un’impresa di famiglia, anche se con un certo tocco di eleganza in stile Champenois. Con l’associazione a Taittinger, naturalmente, le aspettative sono altissime – qualcosa di cui McGrath è dolorosamente consapevole. Parlando con Ponnavoy – responsabile della vinificazione sia di Taittinger che di Evremond – c’è stato qualcosa di molto entusiasmante nel creare un progetto da zero, anche se non senza difficoltà. Ha insistito per conservare la piccola vendemmia del 2018 solo per la proprietà, permettendo loro di seguire i vini in vasca per diversi anni e conoscere meglio il sito. È stato un costo enorme e ha ritardato la prima uscita, ma qualcosa che ha ritenuto essenziale. 
 “Era davvero importante non fare la copia di un altro spumante, non produrre uno… ‘stile’,” dice. L’obiettivo, invece, era: “Identificare il terroir, identificare il suolo, identificare il clima e riprodurre tutto ciò nella bottiglia. Trovare l’identità di Evremond.” Inevitabilmente, c’è la tentazione di tracciare paragoni tra Taittinger ed Evremond, ma il team è chiaro sul fatto che si tratta di progetti totalmente separati, con DNA molto diversi. Lavorando con uva inglese, Ponnavoy ha ritenuto fondamentale gestire l’acidità potenzialmente pungente (e il vino subisce quindi una fermentazione malolattica completa), ma – per lui – la sfida più grande era evitare l’amaro che trova comune in alcuni vini inglesi. Gestire i composti fenolici per evitarlo era dunque essenziale, mentre si è concentrato anche sulla consistenza delle bollicine – lavorando per ottenere una mousse molto fine, qualcosa che ritiene distingua il vino dalla concorrenza. 
 Con il tempo, Evremond spera di produrre 400.000 bottiglie all’anno, anche se il primo rilascio ne conta solo 120.000. Ci sono piani per aggiungere una cuvée millesimata e una rosé una volta che le viti saranno mature e avranno imparato a conoscere il sito, ma per ora producono solo la Classic Cuvée non millesimata. Ora, a dieci anni dall’acquisto del terreno, l’Edition 1 della Classic Cuvée è pronta per il rilascio. Per un debutto, è un risultato straordinario – forse non sorprendente, data la caratura dell’operazione. Incredibilmente fine, tesa e stratificata, con note di conchiglia d’ostrica, iodio e selce, è un vino pieno della promessa di ciò che Evremond può realizzare. 
 La Classic Cuvée Edition 1 di Domaine Evremond sarà rilasciata giovedì 3 aprile: contatta il tuo Account Manager per registrare l’interesse o iscriviti qui per ricevere una notifica.

Dieci anni fa, Champagne Taittinger fece qualcosa di inaspettato: acquistò un terreno nel Kent. Alla vigilia dell'uscita del primo vino del progetto, Sophie Thorpe ha incontrato il team di Domaine Evremond per parlare delle sfide e dei successi della loro avventura inglese.

Champagne Taittinger bought land in Kent 10 years ago. As the first wine from the project is released, we talk to the team behind Domaine Evremond

Diving into Domaine Evremond – Taittinger’s new English wine

Alla scoperta di Evremond: il nuovo progetto enologico inglese di Taittinger

Making wine under conflict Between 1975 and 1990, Lebanon was a mosaic of wars caused by complex shifting political, geographical, and demographical factors. When 16 years of Civil War were finally over, the foundations for a new republic had been laid, but at a considerable cost. Over 100,000 people were dead, nearly one million had been displaced, and billions of dollars worth of property and infrastructure had been destroyed. Chateau Musar’s vineyards had suffered damage from fighting in the Beka’a Valley, but although the winery in Ghazir had been subject to intermittent shelling, it had escaped significant damage. The fact that Musar only missed one year of winemaking during this period is no mere miracle – but a testament to the family Hochar’s dedication and devotion to their vision in the face of the most horrendous ‘working conditions’ imaginable. For Serge Hochar, protecting the family business his father had established was paramount. “If you ask me on which side I fought during these 15 years,” he once said, “I can only tell you that I was fighting for my wines.” And fight, he did. The effort required to get the Musar grapes from the vineyards to the winery each year during the Civil War was nothing short of Herculean. The pickers, who would often pick under artillery and gunfire as the dug-in militias bombarded each other, emerged as heroes. As did the truck drivers, who risked their lives when running the gauntlet of a journey that in peacetime can be made in two and a half hours, but during the war had sometimes taken several days. The story of Musar’s 1984 vintage in particular highlights the adversity Serge Hochar and family faced during the conflict – and also vindicates the passion at the heart of their decision to keep diligently making wine. In 1984, there was almost no vintage as there were only enough grapes to fill two trucks which proved to be a good thing as there were only two truck drivers brave enough to attempt to get them back to the winery.  Each went a different route. One took five days, the other seven. All the while, the grapes in the trucks were piled up, squashed, heating up in the hot sun each day and starting to ferment. A delivery of warm grapes can result in musty, unappealing wine but – such was
his philosophical outlook – Serge defiantly made wine with them anyway, bottling it and cellaring it to let it “become whatever it decided to be”.  Chateau Musar’s 1984 red should, in theory, have been a terrible wine. But against all odds, given the right conditions and no small amount of time, has become not only a drinkable wine – but a delicious, complex, exciting one, brimming with life and hope. The small amount of the vintage that exists was released to the marketplace in 2014 (exactly 30 years after it was made) and the bottles that occasionally appear on the market are very highly prized. This wine – and all of the vintages made during the Civil War – represent the Musar legacy Serge Hochar left in the capable hands of his sons Gaston and Marc, and his brother Ronald and his son Ralph, along with viticulturalist and winemaker Tarek Sakr. These wines were made during a time when simply driving to check on your crop or to pick up supplies meant dicing with death. “We did our best with what we have, as always. This is the Lebanese way. You give me grapes, and my job is only to help them to be the best wine they can be.” - Serge Hochar Chateau Musar: the Civil War years (1975-1990) 
Miraculously, in the 16 years of Civil War in Lebanon, not a single one of Chateau Musar’s employees was killed – even though many of the Hochar’s friends and neighbours lost their lives in sniper attacks, bombardments or car bombings. The winery escaped serious damage and, in retrospect, seems to have been the safest place in Lebanon. Thousands of bottles stored deep underground in Musar’s cellars carved in the limestone heart of Mount Lebanon slept peacefully during the years of conflict.  The Hochars even converted part of the cellars into a bomb shelter for refugees fleeing Beirut. And they took any opportunities they could to distribute and ship their wines while all the madness of war enveloped them, steadily growing Musar’s reputation around the world. By the end of the Civil War, Chateau Musar was so much more than a maker of exquisite wines. It had established itself as an icon of national endurance and hope. And who wouldn’t drink to that? Read more about life at Chateau Musar during the Civil War years with the timeline below: 1976 30,000 Syrian troops move into Lebanon ostensibly to restore peace, but in reality, this was Syria’s attempt to claim the lands (including the Beka’a Valley) it believes it was owed when Lebanon became independent in 1943. “In 1976 there was total war in Lebanon. We had no electricity. No fuel. No transport. No harvest. No nothing. 1976 was the only year in which we failed to make any wine. For others, the weather is a problem – for us, it is war.” Without the ability to reach the grapes, to pick them and bring them back to the winery, there could be no new wine. Even if there had been, there was nobody to buy it. So Serge saw the opportunity to reach out and find new markets for the wines he had in his cellars. His father-in-law had a travel-agency in London and agreed to start importing his wines in the UK. 1977 From 1977 to 1990 (and during plenty of small dirty wars since) the Hochar family successfully made wine each year – often plucking grapes from the barbed wire zones of the frontline. “During times of war, we have to put all our belief and all our assets in wine!” said Serge. “We have to keep going with the things that are our essence. By now, I was used to war. So I kept on making wine; I was making it for a market I did not yet know existed.”

 1978 The UN steps in with peacekeeping troops and Israel is forced to withdraw from Lebanon. Syria steps in instead, targeting the Christian population in the ‘Hundred Days’ War’, the worst offensive for two years. Serge: “There was very heavy shelling in Beirut. The Syrians shelled Achrafiyeh, where our office is [in central Beirut]. At the time, my wife Tania was running the Godiva chocolatier nearby. She took the kids to the winery cellar in Ghazir in shock. There were many dead in Achrafiyeh. My secretary hid in the strong metal filing cabinet. Many people here were psychologically affected.” 
 1979 Revolution in Iran leads to radicalisation of the Shi'ite movement in Lebanon, and the creation of the Amal party, the ‘movement of the dispossessed’.

 1980 Bashir Gemayal unites Lebanon’s Christian military factions, creating the Lebanese Forces political party.  Serge: “This was one of the worst years of the war for us. I used to write a harvest report, but have mislaid it for this year.”  Chateau Musar UK was officially established this year. 1981 Relations between Syria and Israel deteriorate. Serge: “This was a year of terrible hardship. Tania and the kids left for London. They had to. I could not guarantee their safety. They came back, then left again in 1983. I promised that I would join them the moment the war ended. We did see each other every few months when I could get a flight.” 
 1982 Israel invades Lebanon again intending to dislodge the PLO. Some 18,000 people, mostly civilians, lose their lives as the battle-zone moves towards Beirut. Italian, French and US troops assist in the evacuation of the Palestinians. In the Beka’a, 80 hectares of Musar vineyards become the frontline between the Syrians and Israelis, whose tanks faced each other over the vines. Serge calculates that he will not be able to harvest grapes from them again until 1985. But he does. In the confusion that ensues after the invasion, the loyal Bedouin pickers collect what fruit they can, and the Hochar trucks manage to make their way to the winery. Serge: “The 1982 is a pure wine of war.” 1983 Times darken further as suicide bombing reprisals shock Beirut and its suburbs. In the Chouf mountains, the Mountain War begins. That summer, Serge took his family on holiday to the US. During a stop-over in Paris on their return journey, war broke out again so the family decided to settle in France. Winter is severe in the Beka’a, with metres of snow coating the vineyards; summer is barely warmer, and the Hochars’ harvest was late. A break in fighting, instilled by the American fleet anchored off Beirut, came at just the right time for the vineyard manager to pick a few grape bunches and smuggle them into Beirut for Ronald to check. They were good: there had been no rain, no heatwave, and the grapes had reached perfect condition. Ronald put in a call to Serge, who was visiting the US, and the brothers decided to match the bravery of their vineyard manager and order the harvest in. “It was very dangerous,” admits Ronald: “Serge flew to Cyprus, then took a six-hour hovercraft crossing to Beirut; he arrived at the winery in Ghazir moments after two rockets blasted the coast road he’d just been driving on.”  The truck drivers, with their precious loads of hand-cut grapes, carefully negotiated the capillary-like country roads that would lead them to the winery, relying on a network of local gossip to learn which roads the militias were controlling with checkpoints and which route between the Beka’a and Ghazir would be the least bloody. They were successful. As Ronald said, there were two advantages: “Our usual headache, the traffic jams, were gone. And the harvest, just like that of 1982, was excellent!” 
 1984 The Lebanese Forces, having controlled the capital since 1982, are expelled, and the Amal Party takes control of West Beirut. Peacekeeping forces (from the US, Italy and the UK) leave Lebanon. Serge: “We did our best with what we have, as always. This is the Lebanese way. You give me grapes, and my job is only to help them to be the best wine they can be. In 1984 the sun was very hot, and the fighting was hotter. After waiting and waiting for a break in the shelling, and more than a month after the last day of the harvest should have been, we quickly picked whatever grapes were left on the vines. Most were very ripe and sugary. There were enough grapes for only two truckloads, and only two of our drivers were brave enough to attempt the journey to Ghazir.  The first truck managed to find a way through the cedar forests in the northern Beka’a and get eventually to Tripoli, near the northern border with Syria. In five days it was with us. The second truck drove south over mountain tracks to Jezzine, then crossed the battlefronts on the way down to Sidon. From there, the trucks needed to avoid Beirut, so they waited for a boat. There was a terrible storm, which delayed the ferry to Jounieh.  Eventually, the storm was quiet enough and the ferry sailed slowly up the coast. The trucks arrived at the winery after seven days, on October 20th, 45 days after what should have been the end of the harvest – 45! So, in 1984 the grapes that we received were hot, bruised, sticky and very much fermenting. As an act of defiance, and as an act of faith, as a way of showing that the Lebanese spirit can never be broken, we made those grapes into wine. I made the 1984 to declare war against war.” Fittingly, 1984 was the year that Serge Hochar was named as the first ever Decanter magazine ‘Man of the Year’ - for his unswerving commitment to winemaking. 
 1985 The Israelis continue their withdrawal from the south of Lebanon under armed pressure from Hezbollah. They keep an occupied ‘security zone’ along their border. In the War of the Camps, Palestinian refugee camps are targeted by Shi'ite and Amal militia. Serge: “The Israelis continued to withdraw from Sidon, but it was still difficult to get the grapes from the Beka’a to the winery. After this year, things started to settle down, on our terms.” 1986 Serge: “Military action destroyed some of the vineyards on Mount Lebanon. Our white grape Obaideh was, and is, grown on the slopes of the Anti-Lebanon and was still available – but we only ever used this grape for Arak (Lebanon’s aniseed-flavoured aperitif). Prior to 1986, the Chateau white was only produced from Merwah grapes. From 1986 we began to blend Obaideh with Merwah and the combination worked. We were the first to use these two local varieties in a unique new style of wine.” Close to four decades later, Musar is still the only one. 1987 Anger at the continued presence of Israel in Lebanon is augmented by the first Intifada (Palestinian uprising against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza).

 1988 Following Amin Gemayel, Lebanon’s new interim president is announced as Michel Aoun. Serge: “Life in Lebanon was not so hectic in 1988. It was a normal year, politically speaking.” 1989 President Aoun declares war on Syria. After seven months of fighting, with 800 dead, the Arab League negotiates a ceasefire. The Taif Agreement is signed, with the ethos ‘no victor and no vanquished’, in an attempt to end the Lebanese Civil War. Meanwhile, life is beginning to return to normal in the Hochar vineyards. In an impressive vintage, Carignan grapes begin to win Serge’s heart.

 1990 Miraculously, in the 16 years of Civil War in Lebanon, not a single one of Chateau Musar’s employees was killed – even though many of the Hochar’s friends and neighbours lost their lives in sniper attacks, bombardments or car bombings. The winery escaped serious damage and, in retrospect, seems to have been the safest place in Lebanon. Thousands of bottles stored deep underground in Musar’s cellars carved in the limestone heart of Mount Lebanon slept peacefully during the years of conflict.  The Hochars even converted part of the cellars into a bomb shelter for refugees fleeing Beirut. And they took any opportunities they could to distribute and ship their wines while all the madness of war enveloped them, steadily growing Musar’s reputation around the world. By the end of the Civil War, Chateau Musar was so much more than a maker of exquisite wines. It had established itself as an icon of national endurance and hope. And who wouldn’t drink to that?

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The story of Ch. Musar’s 1984 vintage highlights the adversity of Serge Hochar during the conflict and also vindicates the passion to keep diligently making wine. We find out more

The story of Musar’s 1984 vintage highlights the adversity of Serge Hochar during the conflict and also vindicates the passion to keep diligently making wine

Civil War and Chateau Musar's fight for survival

Civil war and Chateau Musar's fight for survival

Lebanon's lost legacy: viticulture Despite being more southerly than the great wine regions of Europe, the Beka'a’s elevated altitude on average around 1000m above sea level – means that it’s a full 10ºC cooler than Lebanon’s Mediterranean coastline. The climate is positively European with wet, often snowy winters and warm, dry summers. It’s very well suited to winemaking, a local craft that dates back millennia. Lebanon itself is geographically situated in the cradle of civilisation. It was here, even before
the Greeks and Romans emerged as dominant cultures in the Mediterranean, and the Canaanites (later known as Phoenicians), peace-loving traders from the Levant, established some of the earliest known well-organised cities: the trading ports of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre. Phoenician culture was at its peak between 1500 and 300BC – a period that saw them explore and dominate the Mediterranean, developing trade routes, setting up outposts and cities as far afield as North Africa (Carthage, now Tunis, Tunisia) and the Iberian peninsula (Gadir, now Cádiz, Spain). The word ‘Phoenician’ directly connects the people of the Levant with both an impressive entrepreneurial spirit and an awe-inspiring work ethic. More precisely, it is an exonym originating from ancient Greek that describes Tyrian purple. This highly prized dye was a major export of the Canaanite port towns, in particular Tyre, hence the name. The labour-intensive production of the colour involved collecting the mucous secretions of thousands of sea snails. 12,000 snails yield a paltry 1.5 grams of dye – which is why it was so highly prized and the clothes it coloured were reserved for royalty. Tyrian purple was not the only ingenious product that the Phoenicians exported. Their legacy also includes the invention of glass-blowing techniques, and the development of the very first abstract (non-figurative) writing system (from which the Greek alphabet was derived) is credited to the Phoenicians and their Canaanite ancestors. It was almost certainly developed primarily to keep records of sales and ultimately function as an essential accounting tool. We also have the Phoenicians to thank for the word ‘Europe’ – which comes from their word ‘Erob’ meaning ‘where the sun sets’. While it is thought that the world’s first-ever wine was made over 8,000 years ago in the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas to the northeast of the Levant, it was the Phoenicians that produced, exported and made famous the ‘fragrant wines of Lebanon’ mentioned in the Bible’s old testament (Hosea 14:7). And with their grip on Mediterranean trade, they marketed it and exported it along with, crucially, the knowledge of how to make it. The agricultural treatises of Carthaginian writer Mago, (thought to be writing around 350 BC) were among the most important early texts in the history of wine to record ancient knowledge of winemaking and viticulture. It’s important to remember the function of wine in society in Phoenician times. It wasn’t just a drink. It was, rather like the Tyrian purple dye, complicated and labour intensive to make, exceptionally highly prized and valuable and not just because of how it tasted – but because of its effect and function.  Biomolecular Archaeologist Professor Pat McGovern at the University of Pennsylvania Museum is a specialist in fermented beverages and his research reveals more about wine in Phoenician life. “The wines of ancient Lebanon and Syria,” he says, “were much more than a technological marvel. They were the social lubricants to break down barriers, stimulate music and the arts and bring people together. They were the supreme religious symbol for prosperity and well-being, in life as well as death. And they were the medicines for dissolving and dispensing botanicals, to rest the weary, relieve pain and cure disease.” Taking their wine to the Pharoahs of Egypt and further west to Portugal to trade it for local silver and tin, Phoenician winemaking equipment has been discovered in Valepeñas in Spain. As Phoenicians established Cádiz (Spain) as early as 1100BC, it is most likely that Phoenician wines – not Roman wines – were the forerunners to sherry. Perhaps the most enduring legacy of these seafaring traders was, in fact, the propagation of ancestral grapevines from the Levant that ampelographers believe gave rise to several modern grape varieties in Europe. According to research published by the University of California-Davis on the Integrated Viticulture Online Database, the French wine grape Mourvèrde may have first been introduced to the wine region of Catalonia around 500BC. By 64BC, Seleucid Syria and Lebanon had been annexed to the Roman empire by emperor Pompey. Peace and prosperity followed as the people of Byblos, Tyre and Sidon were granted Roman citizenship. Trade boomed and new wealth generated from exports of cedar, pottery, jewellery, perfume, purple dye and wine to Rome, enabled an era of widespread construction and urban development. One of the building projects the Romans invested in at this time was the enhancement of the already millennia-old temple complex at Baalbek in the Beka'a Valley. At a site which the Greeks and the Romans referred to as Heliopolis 'the City of the Sun' (where Phoenician god Ba’al had once been worshipped), the Romans rebuilt and reconsecrated the temples to their gods Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus, gods of wine, fertility, ritual madness, festivity, dance and theatre. The 700-acre site remains, to this day, the largest and best preserved Roman temple complex anywhere in the Empire. How the ancients moved the 800-ton quarried stone blocks that form the base of the temples still baffles the world’s brightest engineers. The temple to Bacchus at Baalbek is a monument to the importance of wine in the region, and the site became a symbol of Lebanon itself in the 1960s, thanks to the cultural impact of the Baalbek International Festival. Established in the mid-1950s, the festival brought celebration, theatre, music and dance back to the site through performances by international music stars and, crucially, nurtured and celebrated home-grown talent, perhaps most famously Fairouz and the Rahbani Brothers who became huge stars in Lebanon and right across the Arab world. Lebanon’s potent winemaking heritage is not lost on the makers of Chateau Musar. Far from it. As well as its vineyards in the Beka'a, the winery also grows vines near Byblos and the Hochar family’s charismatic winemaker, Tarek Sakr, is as passionate about the history of the land as he is about the grapes he grows there. “Byblos has been known since Phoenician times as an exporter of cedar wood and wine,” he enthuses. “Vines were cultivated in the hills surrounding Byblos, fermented in stone vats dug into the landscape. Then, the wine was put in Canaanite jars (these were the predecessor of the Greek amphora – yes, Phoenicians invented these too), sealed with resin to stop oxidation, and taken to the harbour for export.” Tarek also tells of a recently discovered archaeological site in the village of Edde a few kilometres from Byblos. “The site suggests that most of the hills near the city have been growing vines for thousands of years. This makes sense as the place where our nearby vineyards are located, on a hill overlooking Byblos, is called Vines Passage. You can smell the history of winemaking here. This is undoubtedly the birthplace of viticulture.” While he has spent many years planting and tending to its vines as an integral part of the Musar winemaking process, Tarek’s knowledge of and connection to the land and its ancient traditions run even deeper than his many years of experience. The result of a DNA test found that he is genuinely of Phoenician descent. It would seem that when it comes to Lebanon’s unrivalled contribution to the world of wine, we still have much to thank the Phoenicians for. Explore more Editorial 

Most of Chateau Musar’s vines are grown in Lebanon’s Beka'a Valley, a fertile plain about 30km east of Beirut, situated between Mount Lebanon on the west and the Anti-Lebanon mountains to the east. 

Most of Chateau Musar’s vines are grown in Lebanon’s Beka'a Valley. We look into the viticultural legacy of the region and the impact of the cultural heritage

The wines of Lebanon

The wines of Lebanon: a phoenician phenomenon

Since Bruno-Eugène Borie took over Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou in 2003, the estate has become one of the best-known and most-loved properties in Bordeaux. The 2023 vintage will be his 20th at the helm – during which time the estate, and the region, have been transformed.  “Everything has changed, and nothing has changed,” Borie says, laughing. “Go all the way back to 1720. Even then, Ducru was trying to improve and adapt to current market conditions.” While he insists that Ducru’s quest to produce the best wine possible dates back centuries, facilitating that motivation has not always been easy. Bordeaux thrived throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries, prior to the arrival of phylloxera in 1875. The economic turmoil in Europe during the first half of the 20th century was even more challenging, and the recovery slow. It’s only really in the 21st century that many of the top Bordeaux estates have regained the resources and clawed back their premiership. Borie took over Ducru at a key turning point for the region – with both the climate and markets rapidly changing. Economic reform in China led to a huge influx of new customers for the fine wine market, and Bordeaux in particular. “China represents 30-40% of the Bordeaux sales today,” says Borie. “It changed everything.” For Borie, this sudden and huge expansion of the market began to lure investors from all over the world. As investment flooded into the region, new wineries, new equipment, new viticulture and new technology began to pop up everywhere. “More investors meant more managers, and more managers hired innovators,” says Borie. It facilitated a whole qualitative movement that, he believes, is behind so much innovation in the region. But the investment in Bordeaux was not the only factor behind the big changes at Ducru. Borie’s decision to slash production had a huge impact on the estate. Before he took over, the property made around 15,000-20,000 cases of the Grand Vin. Today, it’s closer to 7,500 to 8000. Few estate owners can attest to such a dramatic drop in yield for the sake of quality. Such a bold move was certainly helped by Ducru’s independence – it is one of the few Classed Growths that is still 100% family-owned. And the risk has paid off, with Ducru regularly competing for wine of the vintage in the Médoc. Climate also brought about big changes at the property. Borie’s first year in charge – 2003 – was the hottest on record. Soaring temperatures were causing havoc all over France and not just in the vineyards. “People were dying on the streets of Paris,” recalls Borie. He remembers his viticulturist at the time came to him in June, suggesting they start leaf-thinning the vines (removing leaves, opening up the canopy and bring more sunshine to aid ripening). With the vintage’s blazing sun, Borie thought it was madness. “People did it because it’s what they always did,” says Borie. But he resisted. He quickly realised it would be the weather – rather than tradition – that dictated work in the vineyard going forward. As harvest dates crept forward, the days of an August off at the beach were disappearing. Everything was changing. While the investment and innovation in these early years coincided with rapid change in the region, it is over the last 10 years that Borie has witnessed the most impactful changes in Bordeaux. In the vineyard, these changes have not arisen from flashy new machinery, but in the strategic employment of companion planting and cover crops. These agricultural techniques have been used through the ages, but, Borie believes, never as dynamically and rigorously as today. “We plant a certain type of radish in the vineyard where we find compaction, this opens the soil and creates more oxygen. We plant alfalfa at the beginning of spring where needed, bringing nitrogen to the soil at the right time,” he explains. The control of organic matter, Borie believes, is the key to healthy soils, healthy vines and, most importantly, the quality of the grapes. But, Borie is quick to emphasise, this is not simply a revived practice from the days before chemical farming. For Borie, the science behind which and what cover and companion crops to use is much more advanced. Practices are no longer habitual, but much more scientific. “The companion planting of crops between the rows is very new,” says Borie. “Each plot has different requirements.” It doesn’t always work. Borie recounts how the planting of sorghum to encourage the root development of the vines resulted in a nematode infestation (a pest similar to phylloxera) – and the sorghum was quickly replaced. They’re still learning, admits Borie, but he’s convinced the vineyards have never been in better shape. Over the last 10 years, there have also been technological developments in the winery too. Borie is very proud of his “smart” tanks – which analyse the must and wine throughout fermentation, 24 hours a day. It’s a game changer for Borie who has been experimenting with them since 2019. In recent vintages, the Grand Vin has been made exclusively in these tanks. The information these tanks provide is perfect for monitoring temperatures and maceration levels – allowing Ducru to get the best out of the tannins without over-extracting. With live updates on what’s going on inside the tank (and no need to manually take a reading), they can adapt their processes instantly. Ducru has always been family-owned – giving Borie a sense of responsibility and duty. He still lives at the estate, making it one of the very few inhabited châteaux in the Médoc. Borie resides in one of its famous towers, while his mother (95 years old) lives in the other (and still enjoys two glasses of wine for lunch and one for dinner).  As custodians of the estate, Borie – and his mother – have witnessed many changes. And as Borie has grown accustomed to greater precision in the vineyard and winery, he has returned to consider older vintages in the estate’s cellars. He and his team set about checking every mature bottling, re-corking only those in perfect condition and destroying the rest. These bottles are more than history, they represent his family – and his sense of duty to their reputation has been the driver behind many similarly costly projects over his 20-year tenure. Having the opportunity to taste the entire range from Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou from the magnificent 2019 vintage (now all in bottle) was a wonderful experience. Across the range, it is the textural quality of the wines that really stands out. The clarity of fruit – which Ducru has become renowned for – is also apparent. The quality of the Grand Vin, however, is so impressive – the depth and concentration, the layering of abundant tannins while never losing its finesse. Even at such a young age, its drinkability is a perfect example of contemporary Bordeaux with that extra level of precision. Tasting the 2005 alongside proved how well the wines at Ducru age. Still youthful with plenty of fruit, the first hints of midlife tertiary development bring so much complexity to the palate. It was only Borie’s third vintage, but the lower yields produced a wine of incredible concentration and balance.  The fortunes of history and the new wealth in Bordeaux has benefitted practically every property in the region but few have been so effective at capitalizing on it than Ducru. The transformation of this Saint-Julien property, both in the vineyard and winery, is impressive but there is, Borie believes, still room for improvement. His latest investment is a state-of-the-art winery planned for completion in 2024. With Borie in the driving seat and committed to championing the Super Second’s – and his family’s – reputation, Ducru-Beaucaillou is in a safe pair of hands. Browse all Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou listings or read more Editorial

Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou had been transformed under Bruno-Eugène Borie. On the eve of his 20th vintage at the helm, Gavin Smith sat down to talk to the winemaker and owner about the changes, family – and why there is still more he can do at this Saint-Julien Super Second

On the eve of Bruno Borie’s 20th anniversary in charge of Ducru-Beaucaillou, he identifies his key motivations behind transforming this Bordeaux Super Second

Bruno Borie on 20 years at Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou

Duty of service: Bruno-Eugène Borie on two decades at Ch. Ducru-Beaucaillou

Waterford founder Mark Reynier speaks to Gavin Lucas about his obsession with terroir, traceability and transparency – and how his radical approach is driving unprecedented scientific research into the flavours derived from barley grown on different soil types

Waterford founder, Mark Reynier, discusses his obsession with terroir, traceability and transparency – and how his approach is driving pioneering research 

FONDATA: The Waterford Revolution

The Waterford Revolution

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