{"title":"Massaya","description":"\u003cp\u003eI have had the pleasure, mostly, of meeting and spending time with an untold number of winemakers. Many have faded from my memory but a small handful remain unforgettable. Sami Ghosn is at the top of that list. It was a year or two after we opened when Sami walked in with a clutch of his revelatory wines. I was immediately impressed with his fierce intelligence and dashing appearance. We were equally moved by the liquid in the bottles and immediately snatched up a bit of everything. So, I was more than a little excited when he showed up here a couple of weeks back with the current vintages of his august wines. Like before, he regaled us with stories of Lebanon past and present along with tales of his family’s determined journey to restore their ancestral lands to their previous glory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story of Lebanese wine is a 7,000 year odyssey, a legacy that began with the Phoenicians and was immortalized by the Romans in the towering Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek. For centuries, those sun-drenched slopes were the envy of Europe, with Venetian merchants ferrying the wines west. But by the late 20th century, this ancient tradition was nearly extinguished by fifteen years of grueling civil war. While a few stalwarts like Gaston Hochar of Chateau Musar kept the flame flickering, most of the vineyards descended into years of neglect. It was against this backdrop of instability and ruin that Sami Ghosn and his family began their journey home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReturning to their abandoned estate in Tanaïl in 1990, the Ghosns found a landscape in ruins. Squatters were living in their ancestral home, the wells had been destroyed, and the whole area had a feeling of desolation. They fought for the land with nothing but grit and negotiation, initially reviving it through local produce sold in a family pharmacy. The spark that changed everything was a blue bottle, discovered by chance in Germany, that captured the haunting, deep indigo of the Beqaa sky at twilight. Around the same time, Sami met, befriended, and apprenticed with the man many considered to be Lebanon's best Arak producer. That blue bottle became the vessel for the family's beloved arak and the namesake for their wine: Massaya, the Lebanese Arabic word for that fleeting moment when the sun dips behind Mount Lebanon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir Arak was a huge success, considered by many to be not just the best Arak but the finest Anisette available. This catalyzed their ambition to expand into world-class wine. In 1997, the Lebanese wine market was a closed circle of a few historical giants, making it very difficult to get financing for an upstart winery. Looking for guidance and financial backing, Sami decided to knock on the doors of the great estates of France. To his surprise and delight, two French titans recognized the untapped potential of the Ghosn family and their terroir. In 1998, with the support of Dominique Hebrard of Bordeaux and the Brunier family of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, they launched the first “new generation\" winery, sparking a renaissance that has seen Lebanon grow from just four wineries to over forty-five today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMassaya’s excellence is fueled by a profound human loyalty. The core of their team has stood together for two decades, a multicultural family that has evolved alongside the vines. There is a heroic quality to their labor; while the Ghosn brothers travel the globe to spread the gospel of Lebanese viticulture, the team tends to a land they treat as sacred. Their commitment to the environment reflects a belief that a truly great wine must be a product of a healthy, respected ecosystem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo taste a bottle of Massaya is to experience the essence of modern-day Lebanon. It is a wine born of resilience, crafted through international collaboration, but finished with a signature that is purely Levantine. In a country that continues to see so much upheaval, the Ghosns have managed to produce a portfolio that stands as a beacon of determination and sophistication. They didn't just rebuild a winery; they sparked a national renaissance, proving that from the dust of conflict, one can produce some of the most elegant, complex, and storied wines in the world. While the essence of these wines is not unfamiliar to drinkers of fine European bottles, particularly lovers of Bordeaux or the Southern Rhone, inside each bottle lurks something esoteric and indescribable that has me and many others hooked.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"massaya-beqaa-valley-rose-2023-750ml","title":"Massaya Beqaa Valley Rose 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003eMassaya's rose comes from high-altitude Cinsault and Syrah vines in the Bekaa Valley, made in the dry Provencal style by the Ghosn brothers and their French partners from Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Bordeaux. Pale in color, clean, and crisp, it offers delicate strawberry, pink cherry, and a touch of floral lift, with a faintly creamy texture and a crunchy, refreshing finish. A serious rose with a Levantine accent, built for warm-weather drinking and the mezze table.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42021278646307,"sku":"SF-4-SWW--032626-62","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Beqaa-Valley-Rose-2023-Rose-Wine-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602546"},{"product_id":"massaya-beqaa-valley-blanc-2022-750ml","title":"Massaya Beqaa Valley Blanc 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eMassaya was founded by Lebanese brothers Sami and Ramzi Ghosn after the civil war, with crucial backing from two of France's great families: the Bruniers of Vieux Telegraphe in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Dominique Hebrard, formerly of Cheval Blanc. The Blanc draws on Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Clairette, Rolle, and the indigenous Lebanese grape Obeidi from high-altitude vineyards on Mount Lebanon, between 1,200 and 1,600 meters. The wine is aromatic and bright, with white flowers, citrus, and stone fruit, and a waxy texture from aging in large foudres and demi-muids. Fresh, distinctive, and unmistakably Levantine.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42021278679075,"sku":"SF-4-SWW--032626-61","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Beqaa-Valley-Blanc-2022-White-Wine-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602548"},{"product_id":"massaya-beqaa-valley-cap-est-2018-750ml","title":"Massaya Beqaa Valley Cap Est 2018","description":"\u003cp\u003eCap Est is the top red at Massaya, the Lebanese estate run by Sami and Ramzi Ghosn alongside their French partners from Vieux Telegraphe and Bordeaux. The grapes come from a chalky hillside site at 1,200 meters in the far northeast of the Bekaa Valley, near Ras Baalbek. The blend is half Grenache, half Mourvedre, aged 22 months in oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The wine is elegant and velvety, with violets, ripe red berries, and a clear mineral pulse from the high-altitude chalk. A serious Lebanese red that holds its own with the best of the southern Rhone.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42021278711843,"sku":"SF-4-SWW--032626-65","price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Beqaa-Valley-Cap-Est-2018-Red-Wine-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602550"},{"product_id":"massaya-beqaa-valley-gold-reserve-2012-750ml","title":"Massaya Beqaa Valley Gold Reserve 2012","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt 13 years old, the 2012 Gold Reserve is the mature flagship of Massaya's Lebanese range, and it is drinking beautifully right now. This is the wine where Sami and Ramzi Ghosn's French partners, the Bruniers of Vieux Telegraphe and Dominique Hebrard of Cheval Blanc, lean into a Bordelais frame: half Cabernet Sauvignon, with Mourvedre and Syrah filling out the body, aged nine months in new French oak. Time in bottle has done its work. The fruit has turned from primary to dried and spiced, the oak has melted into the wine, and a layer of cedar, tobacco, and Lebanese spice has settled in. A rare chance to drink Bekaa Valley red at peak maturity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42021278744611,"sku":"SF-4-SWW--032626-66","price":75.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Beqaa-Valley-Gold-Reserve-2012-Red-Wine-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602551"},{"product_id":"massaya-beqaa-valley-le-colombier-2022-750ml","title":"Massaya Beqaa Valley Le Colombier 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eLe Colombier is Massaya's entry-tier red and the wine that introduced many drinkers to Lebanon. Sami and Ramzi Ghosn run the estate in the Bekaa Valley with their French partners from Vieux Telegraphe and Bordeaux, and Le Colombier brings the same southern Rhone sensibility at an everyday price. The blend is built around Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah from high-altitude vineyards. The wine is fresh and inviting, with strawberry, cherry, eastern spice, eucalyptus, and a lift of aromatic herbs. Bright, friendly, and a great introduction to Lebanese wine.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42021278777379,"sku":"SF-4-SWW--032626-63","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Beqaa-Valley-Le-Colombier-2022-Red-Wine-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602553"},{"product_id":"massaya-beqaa-valley-terrasses-de-baalbeck-2021-750ml","title":"Massaya Beqaa Valley Terrasses de Baalbeck 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eTerrasses de Baalbeck is Massaya's estate red, made from terraced vineyards between 900 and 1,200 meters on the foothills of Mount Lebanon, overlooking the Roman Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek. The blend is 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 30% Mourvedre, aged 22 months in large foudres and bottled without fining or filtration. The Bekaa Valley altitude and chalky clay soils give the wine remarkable freshness and finesse, with a ruby color of medium depth and a nose of fresh scrubland, red fruit, and a hint of dried jujube. Elegant and confident, this is Lebanese wine at its most expressive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42021278810147,"sku":"SF-4-SWW--032626-64","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Beqaa-Valley-Terrasses-de-Baalbeck-2021-Red-Wine-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602554"},{"product_id":"massaya-lebanon-arak","title":"Massaya Lebanon Arak","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42201410306083,"sku":"SF-SWW--032526-54","price":45.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Lebanon-Arak-Spirits-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602595"},{"product_id":"massaya-lebanon-arak-375ml","title":"Massaya Lebanon Arak (375ml)","description":"","brand":"Skurnik Wines West [SWW]","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42201411813411,"sku":"SF-SWW--032526-55","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0044\/1208\/0163\/files\/Bottle-of-Massaya-Lebanon-Arak-375ml-Spirits-Flatiron-SF.jpg?v=1775602597"}],"url":"https:\/\/sf.flatiron-wines.com\/collections\/massaya.oembed","provider":"Flatiron SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}