Massaya Blanc, Bekaa Valley - 2021

Name: Massaya Blanc, Bekaa Valley
Brand: Massaya
SKU: 24619
Price: 20.99 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Item # 24619 750 mL

Ancient region, ancient grapes, modern wine. Made from a blend of French varieties and Obeidi (a.k.a. Obaideh), a grape indigenous to the Bekaa Valley, this is a lithe yet supple unoaked white with notes of spiced pear and white flowers. Savor it with a meal, or enjoy it by itself whenever the mood hits you.

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Color

White

Vintage

2021

Country

Lebanon

Region

Bekaa Valley

Producer

Massaya

Grape Variety

Clairette

Chardonnay

Öbediah

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Staff Pick Notes

Lebanon has no native red grapes, but two white grapes were born and bred there: Merwah, a cousin of Sémillon, and Obeideh. The latter gives this beautiful Massaya Blanc a unique brightness, richness, and lovely aromatics. Throw in some Sauvignon Blanc, Clairette, and Chardonnay and you've got an elegant, satisfying gem of a white blend. Notes of peach, honey, and lemon are balanced out by cool minerals. Located minutes away from Roman and Byzantine ruins, and only an hour away from Beirut, Massaya's Faqra winery is home to chalky clay soils and vines averaging 20 years in age. Aged on its lees for 8 months before bottling, the resulting wine is the epitome of fresh. Great on its own or alongside your favorite mezze, I recommend drinking it young and often. Kesak!

- MM

Glossary

Clairette

Clairette is a term that is applied to several white varieties in southern France: "Clairette Ronde" refers to Ugni Blanc; there is also a pink-skinned variety called Clairette Rose. The real "Clairette Blanche," however, is a touchy grape that is added to many blends in the southern Rhône, Provence, and Languedoc. It is prized in such blends for its bright acidity and its aromatic properties.

Sauvignon Blanc

Few varietals have spawned as bizarre a list of descriptors as Sauvignon Blanc. Believe it or not, “cat pee” is in fact a complimentary tasting note, associated with some of the best bottlings. (It’s a somewhat odd way of pointing out herbaceousness in the wine.) Cat pee aside, Sauvignon Blanc (sometimes called "Fumé Blanc" in California) is a bit of a chameleon in terms of style, and quite utterly at the whim of the winemaker. Some are fermented in barrel, others in stainless steel. Some...

Chardonnay

From Champagne to Chablis, it's hard (not to mention unpleasant) to avoid this famous white variety. During a huge popularity surge beginning in the late 1980s, Chardonnay plantings have increased dramatically -- not only in California's wine country, with which the variety is nearly synonymous, but also in Burgundy (its original, Old World home) and just about everywhere else in the winemaking world. It is a flexible, eager-to-please grape, responding well to just about anything a winemaker...