Greece and Lebanon Are World-Class Destinations for Delicious Rosé
I think the world has started to embrace the idea that not all rosé is from France and actually some of its most interesting and gastronomic examples come from other parts of the world. Two of my favorite outliers come from the Mediterranean—but maybe not from places that would be your first or even second guesses. I speak of two unique and utterly fascinating winemaking regions—the island of Crete in Greece and the high mountains of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The producers from both of these regions have near cult-like followings for those in the know. So if you don’t know, this is a great opportunity to find out!
2022 Iliana Malihin Liatiko Rosé Rethymno Crete Greece $24.99 First, we start with Crete and a small-production winemaker named Iliana Malihin. Growing up in Athens, Malihin studied winemaking there but felt the pull of Crete where she had spent her childhood summers with her grandfather. She always felt there was something special on that giant island and, when researching her wine project, began knocking on doors. She soon started sourcing old-vine fruit from local growers who were selling to larger producers and the local cooperatives. She became known for practices that included shifting the growers to organic farming and dropping their yields while still paying them twice what they had been making. People soon began knocking on her door. Her first commercial release was in 2019 and was based on Vidiano, the main white grape grown on Crete. Most of the vines were own rooted and planted pre-Phylloxera. Iliana immediately broke through with her low-intervention winemaking approach and style, capturing the attention of wine writers and somms around the world. Her Liatiko comes from a small village in the interior of Crete with high hillside terraces planted to ungrafted vines averaging over 80 years of age.
The 2022 Rosé is the first vintage imported into the U.S., and it is incredibly special. The wine is 100% Liatiko with 80% of the juice direct-pressed from the grapes and the remaining 20% macerated on skins for 3 days. The result is one of those deeper-colored rosés that makes one think more of old-school Tavel from the Southern Rhône. The wine has structure and finesse and is just starting to come into its own. It has flavors of black cherry, strawberry compote, deep mineral notes, and a savory but silky finish. This is not a cheap-and-cheerful quaffer; this is a serious rosé that demands a little time in glass before consuming. I would even consider only a light chill and a quick decant before drinking. This is the kind of rosé that is more at home with meat dishes or rich, oily fish than light summery fare (though it would still be good with that too). There is just much to contemplate here and it is the perfect window into this emerging winemaker’s style.
2018 Château Musar Rosé Bekaa Valley Lebanon $49.99 In 1930, Gaston Hochar returned home from his travels in Bordeaux and decided to embrace Lebanon’s wine heritage by planting his own vineyards in the mountains around the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Gaston began to formulate a Bordeaux-styled wine, but it took decades before he settled on a style that successfully emulated Bordeaux’s longevity while being a completely Lebanese wine. He even sent his eldest son, Serge, to study oenology in Bordeaux. Serge eventually took over winemaking duties in 1959. Château Musar has continued to make wine in their own unique style, even through Lebanon’s tumultuous civil war. It was not until the 1970s when Michael Broadbent, the famed wine journalist, “discovered” the wine and introduced it to the international wine-drinking community—who were so enthusiastic for these wines that they’ve become cult collectibles. A little back story here helps demonstrate the commitment that the Hochar family has always had to making interesting and exciting wines that transcend our idea of classics, like Bordeaux, while creating something new—even though they are currently 90 years into their project.
And that brings us back to the rosé, an hommage to Serge’s love of rosé Champagne. The wine is made from white grapes with a little bit of red wine blended in to add color (though there is no secondary fermentation). The 2018 is a blend of 57% Obaideh and 40% Merwah—two indigenous Lebanese white grapes thought to be related to Chardonnay and Sémillon, respectively. About 3% Cinsault is added for color during the press. Everything is fermented together and then aged for nine months in barrel before resting in tank another six months. The wine is then bottled and held for release when the winery thinks it is ready to start drinking—they are more than willing to cellar a wine until they think it is ready to drink. The grapes that go into this wine are from some of their highest-altitude (some up to 1200m), lowest-yielding vineyards, and the white grapes are from vines planted between 1927 and 1940. The first vintage was 1995, and the rosé is not made every year. The 2018 is an ageworthy rosé if there ever was one, with its creamy texture, subtle floral tones, aromas of raspberry and vanilla from the oak. It is harmonious and long on the palate. This is a great rosé to serve cool but not too cold. It is easily worthy of savoring over the course of an evening. A truly ideal pairing would be with the oily and meatier fishes you’d find in an Omakase-style sushi menu. Perfect with that Spanish mackerel or some O-toro tuna!