1991 Chateau Musar |
| Vintage | 1991 |  | |
| Type | Red | ||
| Producer | Chateau Musar (web) | ||
| Variety | Red Blend | ||
| Designation | n/a | ||
| Vineyard | n/a | ||
| Country | Lebanon | ||
| Region | Bekaa Valley | ||
| SubRegion | n/a | ||
| Appellation | n/a | ||
| UPC Code(s) | 5017469111302, 5017469119100 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2004 and 2021 (based on 12 user opinions) | |
| Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Musar Rouge on the Wine Market Journal. |
| Community Tasting History |
Community Tasting Notes (average and median of 93 pts. in 152 notes) | |
| Tasted by SussexRH on 3/16/2024 & rated 94 points: Bright, fresh on the nose; hint of volatility on first opening; intense, concentrated iodine, spice, cherry drops, redcurrant, violet, cola bottles; superb lift, acidity in highwire act but perfectly balanced with intensity of the palate; reminds me of v good old Rioja; perhaps lacks the spiced complexity of some vintages, but tannins fully resolved to leave sweet fruit core with just enough structure to hold everything together. Really concentrated, focussed intensity; no reason to think it will improve further but it’s flying right now. (584 views) | |
| Tasted by adnorthup on 3/9/2024: decanted off sediment an hour and a half before dinner. Such a pure Musar nose, would be impossible to confuse it for anything else. There’s some spice, red berry, wood. Decent acid, it’s so fresh and alive, for those who are fans it’s a good example showing a bit more sweetness and richness than a classic, but great. Load up on late 90’s and hold them a decade more. (804 views) | |
| Tasted by forceberry on 4/1/2023 & rated 93 points: The vintage 1991 started with a cold winter, followed by a quite cool spring with some freezes before flowering, reducing the crop a bit. The summer was quite cool throughout and even surprisingly cold in August, only turning somewhat warmer in September. Harvested between the 16th of September and the 2nd of October. Very slow and steady fermentation with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks. Aged for 12 months in predominantly old Nevers oak barrels, after which the final cuvée was blended. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in 1994. 14% alcohol. Decanted for six hours before tasting the wine. Moderately translucent and quite evolved brick-orange color with a tertiary maroon hue. The nose feels quite old and tertiary but also harmonious and pretty attractive with layered aromas of mahogany and autumnal leaves, some sweet notes of dried figs and blackcurrant jam, light ethery notes of VA, a little bit of juicy strawberry and red plum, bretty hints of saddle leather and phenolic spice, a touch of meat stew and a faint green-toned whiff of minty lift. The wine feels tertiary, resolved and moderately sweetly-fruited on the palate with a silky texture, a full body and layered flavors of dried dates and wizened red cherries, some raspberry juice tones, a little bit of meaty umami, light notes of pipe tobacco, evolved hints of old leather and beef jerky and a touch of mahogany. I wonder if there is a tiniest bit of residual sugar here - just a few grams more than is normal for Musar - giving the fruit flavors a tiny boost of richness? The wine is quite high in acidity, but the ample tannins come across as fully resolved and very supple, lending very little grip to the mouthfeel. The finish is long, subtly grippy and quite complex with a sweet'n'savory aftertaste of dried figs and wizened cherries, some leathery notes, a little bit of balsamic richness, light earthy tones, a hint of blackcurrant jam and a volatile touch of medicinal ether. A beautiful, harmonious and textural old Musar. It feels age has made some of the finer nuances disappear and the wine is starting to have a more anonymous old-wine feel to it, but there is nothing obviously oxidative here and the wine still feels like it is yet to go downhill. Most likely the wine has reached its plateau of maturity years ago and it is still sitting there, firmly, without any plans on falling apart. As the wine is pretty tertiary with fully resolved tannins and a very smooth, velvety texture, the wine doesn't really call for any additional aging, but most likely the wine can be kept for years more without problems. However, if you had any bottles remaining in your cellar, I'd start planning on drinking them sooner rather than later. (1669 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 11/30/2022 & rated 93 points: 'Le Lievre a la Royale' Long Lunch (cafe EPURE, Shop 403, inside Epure, Level 4, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong): Decanted for 5 hours than re-bottled and kept in the fridge overnight.Very high shoulders fill. Cork was near-saturated and crumbly cheese in structure but came out in one piece with a Durand. Surprisingly almost no sediment on decanting but a ton stuck to the shoulder of the bottle. Immediate colour on opening is totally transparent, faded mahogany looking like a 1950s Rioja or Barolo. Immediate nose is high notes from a slightly out of tune piano that hasn’t been played for a long time. Very savoury and feral with tons of Unami and old luggage from a damp attic. Immediate palate is barely-awoken, deep-slumbering semi-confit red cherry liqueur, typical Middle East spice market etc. Almost from the first sensation in the mouth you are hit by an awesome wave of deep and endless resonance and reverberance echoing inside your cranium. Wow! Mellowed beautifully overnight but with all the same elements. Mind-expanding finale. Could have been better with the hare and foie gras than with the Brie & White Truffle it was served with at the end of the meal. Not my best experience of this vintage. 93 this time as was overshadowed in the drinking order by the preceding 2001 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle and the 1994 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque. (2194 views) | |
| Tasted by diegopia on 11/25/2022 & rated 90 points: Still incredibly pleasant. Subtle notes of chocolate and plum. Decanted three hours before. Perfect pairing with a Persian chicken dish. (1786 views) | |
| Tasted by lozatron on 6/17/2022: Musarathon (Ariana II): Somewhat cloudy, and at first I thought this was a little diffuse on the palate, but it pulled itself together and became really rather lovely. Of all the wines we drank, this one suffered the most I think from the format - it was hard to pick it out among so many wines, and I think an evening sharing this between two or three people, letting it evolve in the glass, would have been really fulfilling. (2307 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 12/25/2021 & rated 93 points: Christmas Day Family Lunch at Home (Our House, Hong Kong): Xmas lunch - Decanted for 8 hours. Strangely, no notes....but this was beautiful and confirmed my view that 1991 is possibly the finest vintage of Ch. Musar apart from the near-impossible to find 1959. Fortunately, I still have a case of this and will remember to write a detailed note next time! (2377 views) | |
| Tasted by bonedocnine on 12/14/2021 & rated 82 points: sadly this bottle was long gone...... just a ghost of what it would have been. (2040 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 2/20/2021 & rated 93 points: Followed the 01 and a similar flavour profile, but this had a little bit more breadth and depth and freshness and zing. I still think this my favourite Musar. (2406 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 7/3/2020 & rated 93 points: Classic mature Musar. Herby and spicy, tobacco, sweet in the middle. Gorgeous. (2859 views) | |
| Tasted by Duncan H on 4/4/2020 & rated 80 points: I think this was still just about alive, but not particularly pleasurable. A hint of sweet, resiny fruit, but not enough there for us to want to drink very much of this. (2824 views) | |
| Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 2/22/2020: That is super acid. But here it is. (2965 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 7/6/2019: Sweet tobacco fruit, fruitcake richness, spicy - gorgeous (3652 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 3/31/2019 & rated 92 points: Exotic, as ever, perhaps a bit sweeter, smoother and hotter than it has shown in the past. (3533 views) | |
| Tasted by vinkarl on 3/15/2019 & rated 94 points: Brick stone coloured when opened, the taste a bit laidback. Two hours later the colour is more red, and the wine is much more lively. Great with summer lamb, potatoes and mushroom stew. Saved half of the bottle for tomorrow. Day two: Even better today. What a youthful and fruity 28 year old. (3034 views) | |
| Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 2/8/2019: VA for sure but delicious all the same. (3061 views) | |
| Tasted by chbeaumont on 9/8/2017 & rated 92 points: Two bottles, archetypal variation. One had a crumbly cork. First: darker, plenty of VA, oxo cube & marmite. It deteriorated. The 2nd: elegant, genteel, graceful, fragrant; lovely balance, with a kick-ass finish. At best, will continue to age well. (6482 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 5/29/2017 & rated 93 points: Pale, spicy fragrance, and then layer on layer of exotic fruit, quite sweet in the middle. Really lovely. (6359 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 3/31/2017 & rated 92 points: My Birthday Dinner (Seasons By Olivier E., 3/F, Two Lee Gardens, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong): Decanted for 8 hours before serving with just totally mind-blowingly good two Alexandre Polmard 4kg rare tomahawks of Blanc de Limousin Charolais steaks especially flown in by Chef Olivier. Befitting my deep love of Ch. Musar....and my agreement with CTers such as Rupert that this is possibly the best-ever vintage (except the impossible to find 1959).....it neatly refused to fit into my normal structure of note-taking: Damson/lambs'-blood transparent red. Nose is 'wet socks' even after an 8-hour decant but it quickly segues into high-toned red proper Turkish Delight with all the spice and smoke smells you would associate with that even if you have never been to Turkey but had dreamed it on a Christmas Day in England......very high-toned piano notes, light but mega-powerful deep draughts of sonorous after-resonance.....like the "zap" in the ozone/electricity of an incoming English summer thunderstorm. Hey, it's my birthday! (6582 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 3/4/2017 & rated 93 points: I think this is the best Musar vintage of all. Exotic and tobacco-ey, fruit cake, but it's mellow now, really quite sweet in the middle - gorgeous. (6347 views) | |
| Tasted by fournet on 2/22/2017 & rated 93 points: Great and in a great stage (6122 views) | |
| Tasted by dcwino on 10/7/2016 & rated 93 points: Poker night - Reds double blind - 91 Musar, 09 Coche Perrieres, 67 Marthas and etc.: Served blind, knowing who brought the wine, I am thinking the 83 Rayas. A lot of cherry fruit, sweet spices and earth. Medium concentration, dry cherry fruit driven palate impression, subtle and warm palate, fully integrated tannins and medium finish with sweet cherry fruit end. Not as long as the 83 Rayas but seems awfully close. (4606 views) | |
| Tasted by MRichman on 9/29/2016: Petaluma Wine Group BYO at Seared: Black fruit, tar, violets, bright cherry. Light weight. More round and full than the 1990 and imo much better. This is excellent Musar, wonderful wine. At a great age but has years to go. (3380 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 9/24/2016 & rated 94 points: Ch. Musar Dinner with Marc Hochar (Crown Wine Cellars, 18 Deep Water Bay Drive, Shouson Hill, Hong Kong): Very bright-jeweled transparent ruby colour. Nose is beautifully lifted and alluring.....violets, fresh liquorice stick, dried star anise.....gorgeous and quite Barolo-like. Very clean and precise. Palate is lightly candied and quite sweet and perfumed.......evocative of old-fashioned red and white Turkish Delight dusted with icing sugar that came in a sandalwood box from childhood Christmases. Very reverberant and with an almost endless length.....wow! My contribution to the evening......I really think it's up there in the pantheon of the great Musars of all time but is still a teenager. (3555 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 9/22/2016 & rated 92 points: Mid ruby to full garnet. Very sweet-fruited nose. Quite a bit of slightly volatile lift. Sweet and long. Just a sense of alcohol (14%). Lovely and a little, was expected, quirky. **** (2858 views) | |
| Tasted by MAOC on 9/11/2016: Barely medium bodied, but with beautiful, sweet and deceptively intense blackcurrant and red cherry fruit, saddle leather, pipe tobacco and notes of hay/earth. A very good match for grouse tonight and I think this Musar is at its peak now. ****1/2 (2746 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 7/18/2016 & rated 93 points: Better than a couple of weeks ago - plush, thick, sweet middle, exotically spicy, but no V/A or funk. Delicious. (2654 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 7/8/2016 & rated 91 points: One from the new batch. Plush, malty, fruit cake, quite porty, but not overweight like some recent 99s - this is Musar at its intriguing best (2666 views) | |
| Tasted by phil the agony on 6/5/2016 & rated 94 points: Le vin de la soirée , rien de moins ! Avec son pourtour orangé il commence à avoir le bon âge pour le boire. Tu crois qu'il est mort ? Non monsieur.Comme Mohammad Ali, il va toujours survivre et dans 10 ans , il va être encore en vie. Une palette aromatique incroyable encore une fois.Épices grillés,un peu de cassonades.Un vin de Bedouin.Un peu de thé mais il n'avait pas de côté tertiaire comme les vieux vins.Il est pas prêt de faiblir. Une chance d'avoir bu ce vin. 18/20 (2919 views) | |
| Tasted by yofog on 3/18/2016: One of the top wines at a pretty serious night. Mature but full of freshness, this is really lively and spicy, with beautiful barnyard notes, cherry, bright spices, soil, really a wildly complex nose with so many things all in perfect balance with each other. (3367 views) | |
| Tasted by salil on 3/3/2016 & rated 92 points: Olea (New Haven, CT): Very pretty and elegant with layers of fresh, high toned red berried fruit tinged with earth, an array of exotic high toned spices and floral notes, and of course a whiff of bretty/leathery aromas. This has those classic, rustic Musar aromas, but the palate presence is very refined and polished with the tannins mostly integrated, and bright acids keeping it very fresh and lively. (4104 views) | |
| Tasted by Tony Molester on 1/22/2016: Crumbled cork, no clear sign of seepage though. Decanted and tasted over 2h. N: typical old book, leather aromas. P:texture and flavours a bit lean. Does put on weight with air, but I must say this is not as good as other vintages tasted of late (86, 02). Good at best. Fading for certain, though not quickly. I strongly doubt this will benefit from further cellaring. Drink up. 14% abv (3143 views) | |
| Tasted by keith prothero on 12/19/2015 & rated 93 points: Clear red garnet in the glass, this wine smells of leather and cherry. Touch of VA which quickly blows off .. . Impeccably balanced, with great acidity, the flavours of cherry,cassis and leather with herbal and floral qualities for minutes through the finish. Most people consider this to be one of the very best Musar,and this wine proves the point. Probably will not improve but think it will stay at this level for a few more years. excellent/Outstanding (4213 views) | |
| Tasted by sachsen on 10/23/2015 & rated 93 points: Typical Musar. Cork looks like heck, but comes out in one piece with ah-so. ALmost no nose fir first couple of minutes in glass, then there's nose but not much other than funk 'n' fruit on palate. After another hour or so, funk blew off and this was clearly a . Easy 93 at that point. (3740 views) | |
| Tasted by Dio on 10/9/2015 & rated 95 points: Espetacular !!! (3193 views) | |
| Tasted by peternelson on 6/23/2015 & rated 91 points: Terroni with Marc Hochar: Pruney, old plum, leather, and apple vinegar notes (yes, apple vinegar nuances). Chestnut, animale alos as noted in the notes. Fine grained; still lovely and will age with the tannins not really gone, but completely integrated into the wine. (3781 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 5/18/2015 & rated 93 points: '91 Musar never disappoints, but this was an interesting one. Opened on the first night and it somehow wasn't hanging together. Typical Musar great nose, a little stank and great fruit. However it was feeling old as if it was on its last legs. I then tried it on the second night expecting that it had released its hold on life. Lo, a miracle the wine had totally re-energized and was drinking beautifully. It had somehow gained weight. What is up with these wines? Unique and like nothing else on this planet. (3623 views) | |
| Tasted by Pikemeister123 on 5/17/2015 & rated 90 points: Really lovely. None of the acetone or petillance you sometimes get with Musar, just beautifully smooth, warm fruits and spices. A little citrus and clove. Bit of a library smell, but in a good way. No need to rush to drink this. (3351 views) | |
| Tasted by JBVino on 4/4/2015: arrived today. uniquely hazy character...not sure if this was due to shopping. wine was good but lacking that extraordinary secondary flavors of the best wines from this producer. texture was ok but wine lacked a bit size and precense to more than solid. overall good wine but not great wine (3676 views) | |
| Tasted by RajivAyyangar on 2/5/2015 & rated 93 points: In Memoriam - Tasting Musar at Heirloom (Heirloom, San Francisco): Color: Cloudy red in the glass with a pale rim. (It was pretty dim in the restaurant, don’t trust any of my color notes - I’d refer to Kirk's notes from late 2014). Nose: Initial aromas of green apple (oxidative) and forest floor, then the wine bloomed into a boldly-splashed canvas of baked apple, tart blackberry and cherry, fig stems, and a hint of tamari. The nose is simply gorgeous - savory, sweet, and much more. In the mouth this wine is effortlessly balanced - med- body, med alcohol, med+ acid. The flavors on the palate follow the nose, and seem to shimmer and oscillate in balance with each smell and sip. As several people remarked, at most tastings this would be wine of the night, but on this occasion my ’94 (to my surprise) seemed to outshine it. Score: Between 9 and 9.5 (4311 views) | |
| Tasted by Kirk Grant on 1/25/2015: 19 Vintages of Musar Rouge; 1/25/2015-1/26/2015 (Clark Point House in Southwest Harbor, Maine): Color: Ruby core leads into a mostly tawny color throughout Smell: Forest floor, cement, leather, smoked/charred meats, dried red fruits, clove, oolong tea, mushrooms, and tobacco. Taste: A melange of red, blue, and black fruits dance and shift along the palate throughout a long finish that leans in a more rustic style; leather, tobacco, and baking spices. Overall: In the mouth this is all power, med+ body, med+ acidity, med+ tannin. There is brilliance in this wine that commands attention and thought. In honor of Bart Broadbent who made tasting the '84 Rouge possible I'll use the five * system. (*****) (4345 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 1/4/2015 & rated 96 points: Decanted for 8 hours then slowly consumed half the bottle over the following 3 hours. Beautiful as always and with every hour the wine in the glass got better. No detailed notes because of a unique bittersweet element......because it was opened to salute the passing away of Serge Hochar. RIP. Day 2: My god, the ghost of Serge Hochar has touched this wine and it has now opened up perfectly into a profoundly beautiful, harmonious old Burgundy-like pleasure as good as any time I have ever drank it in the past. Nose of old leather furniture and a palate of patchouli oil, bitter cherry boiled sweets and mushrooms on the back end. The finish and the reverberance go on forever. (3798 views) | |
| Tasted by Bordeauxman on 12/29/2014 & rated 90 points: The nose was a fresh crisp red raspberry and cherry. The taste was a brooding forest floor at first and after 90 minutes of air it blossomed into well balanced red fruit and saddle leather taste. The color was lighter than other Musars that I have had. The cork was in marginal condition which leads me to believe that perhaps the wine was not stored laying down for an extended period of time. (3553 views) | |
| Tasted by Impulse on 12/26/2014 & rated 93 points: The best of the last few bottles i've had... Still vibrant and full of energy. Nose is amazing, mouth is suprisingly full and deep. As always this wine is like none other. Loved it. (3364 views) | |
| Tasted by WinePT on 10/13/2014 & rated 89 points: Chateau Musar vertical tasting (Broadbent Selections, Richmond, VA): Initial notes of toffee with flavors of slight cherry & coffee. A bit disjointed on the mid palate, but it settles down on the finish. Good potential for the future. (4952 views) | |
| Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 9/1/2014 & rated 95 points: Great Musar, keeps getting better with each sip. No funk in this bottle, just mature wine with a leatheriness that kind of reminds me of old tempranillo, although with a richer body. Totally rounded and resolved with age, though this being Musar it's really just at the beginning of its drinking window. (12600 views) | |
| Tasted by swaap on 8/21/2014 & rated 92 points: Verticale Musar (Restaurant al Sad, Choueir): Robe tuilée presque acajou. Arômes de steak tartare, cuir, fruits macérés et beaucoup d'épices. Les tanins sont fondus, sucrosité bien présente en bouche (4267 views) | |
| Tasted by alittle on 8/16/2014 & rated 93 points: Decanted only for sediment, followed approximately 2 hours. Translucent ruby, with a moderate brick at the rim. On the nose, ripe waxy cherry, spice, earth, a touch of volatile acidity, cured meat, tar, a touch of horse stable, iodine, leather, brown sugar, orange peel, and mushroom. On the palate, medium acidity, no perceptible tannin, showing relatively clean with sweet cherry, spice, earth and orange. Finish is moderate. I would not hold this any longer; drink now. (3411 views) | |
| Tasted by Impulse on 8/8/2014: Cork was completely soaked and muddy... However the wine was stunning, great nose, balance and intensity. lovely in a Musar way. (3933 views) | |
| Tasted by akbash on 7/29/2014 & rated 92 points: Cork completely soaked and loose. A half inch ullage. Jammy taste of red berries and cherries. Still a lot of acidity and some tannins. Can still take a few years of aging when the cork is still in good condition. It is a good wine but I will not buy anymore because the two bottles I had had a bad cork. (3343 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Canada on 6/27/2014 & rated 94 points: Why did I not buy more of this...kind of like Rayas meets Dujac in the glass Fill was top shoulder and when I went at this with an Ah-so, the cork went straight into the wine. decanted off sediment and served immediately. Garnet core fading to a pale orange rim. Nose is quite expressive with orange spice, iodine, stems, moss, earth, undergrowth, leather, cranberry and tea. The palate so gorgeous...tannins are resolved, fruit is present but augmented by beautiful secondary and tertiary notes...herbs, undergrowth, iodine, saline, violets, pepper, cranberry, orange zest, minerals and raspberry are integrated and balanced Finish is long and expansive. So ethereal and lithe. Wow...great wine. (3721 views) | |
| Tasted by alittle on 6/19/2014 & rated 93 points: Popped and poured, followed approximately 1 hour. Translucent garnet, with moderate brick. On the nose, dried cherry, earth, undergrowth, florals, black tea, iodine, leather, spice, orange peel, a bit of volatile acidity poking through. On the palate, medium acidity, with mild gripping tannin on the long finish, accentuated with tastes of cherry preserves, beeswax, spice, blood orange and leather. Lovely wine, and true to the Musar character. Perhaps a bit more volatile than I would like. Based on this bottle, drink now. (2607 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Canada on 6/19/2014 & rated 93 points: Garnet core to faint orange at the rim Nose of sweet spice, incense, star anise, orange zest, iodine, moss, violets, leather, and cranberry. There is a touch of VA on this bottle but it walks the line nicely. Palate is nicely integrated....incense, tar, herbs, undergrowth, moss, tart red fruits, iodine and undergrowth Finish is long with moderate complexity. Very pretty but not quite as good as my last bottle (3536 views) | |
| Tasted by Dave Canada on 6/12/2014 & rated 95 points: This smells like old burgundy.... Nose is so complex and powerful with notes of earth, moss, forrest floor, tart yet bright red fruit, spice, violets, undergrowth, iodine, leather, herbs and mushroom Palate is svelte, very polished....iodine, spice, pepper, raspberry, cherry, violets, undergrowth and herbs are everywhere....leather, moss and earth add such depth....wow. Finish is long, layered and just so pretty. This is why I buy wine. (3745 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 5/26/2014 & rated 92 points: Another great bottle (see my other TNs). Is becoming my go-to comfort wine when I don't feel like a big fruit wine or a more delicate cerebral wine. (3222 views) | |
| Tasted by CamWheeler on 5/17/2014 & rated 88 points: Lots of VA, orange peel and earth. High acidity pushes things through on the palate, there is a little sourness and VA as well. It is really out there, I normally like Muear but this wasn't interesting enough for the style. (2806 views) | |
| Tasted by Henman on 3/28/2014 & rated 94 points: Had a glass at the Wine bar at Helsinki AirPort. Great nose of decayed leaves and sous bois. Medium bodied very smooth palate delivering sweet red berries, decaying leaves, leathery/ funky notes with nice acidic grip. In a great drinking spot. Hedonistic stuff. (4139 views) | |
| Tasted by rknutsen on 3/23/2014: Purchased in 1999. Stored in personal climate controlled cooler since. Did not decant due to age. Still had some fruit on the nose; nice aroma. Little sediment. Cork was completely soaked through with mold on the top. Pleasantly surprised by palate. Paired well with 'pasticho' (Venezuelan lasagna.) (3502 views) | |
| Tasted by Zweder on 3/20/2014 & rated 92 points: Monthly tasting club "The Tasting Club" 2014-03; Lebanon. (@ RG): This is a great Musar with a very pleasantly stinky and complex bouquet. On the palate barnyard, juicy fruits, good acidity, a touch of sweetness as well, silky soft tannin and a great length. Mouth filling and complex wine at its peak now. (2895 views) | |
| Tasted by sharonandroland on 12/30/2013 & rated 96 points: Another exceptional bottle of this wine. All that Musar is good for - perfectly balance between fruit, VA, and an amazing array of aromas. (4197 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 11/3/2013 & rated 94 points: Similar to my other TNs on this wine (which say that this is good juice). Amazed that I haven't had a flawed bottle yet. I must be being a good person (4491 views) | |
| Tasted by sharonandroland on 9/26/2013 & rated 96 points: One of the best Musar. Extreme concentration and power. Can hold up with any food. Just lingering on the palate. Ethereal and intense. What a combination. (4748 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 9/21/2013 & rated 94 points: As I saw in another TN. Me likey. I'm a huge Musar fan and was lucky to find a cache of 91s and 93s which are my favorite early 90 vintages. This was a beaut. All leather and funk (I don't mind the brett) and the weird muddiness which I don't like in other wines but do here. Maybe it is the familiarity. Drinking well; will go for ages yet. (4210 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 7/19/2013 & rated 93 points: Not much to add to other notes. Beautiful wine. When I want something with complexity and I have time to think this is what I reach for. I've been spectacularly lucky with my cache. I haven't had a duff bottle yet and Musar is apparently known for its bottle variation. This one was especially smoky. (4757 views) | |
| Tasted by pbmedder on 6/13/2013: Medium amber colour. Smokey, very savoury, meaty, dried fruit, apricot, nuts. Palate is soft and resembles Pinot more than a Cab blend. Fine tannins, long finish, very smooth, lively, delicate, savoury, saline. Beautifully elegant wine. Outstanding. (3591 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 4/29/2013 & rated 92 points: Keith P @ Trompette (La Trompette, London): Richer, slightly porty, Madeira cake. A little flatter and slightly lactic cf the others. A touch more volatile too. Early 80s right bank? No, Jamie nails it as Musar, so it must be the 91. Yes. A touch volatile and showing some heat but this is very good. A little lighter and more volatile with air. This must be the value pick of the flight. **** (5085 views) | |
| Tasted by peternelson on 3/30/2013 & rated 92 points: Chateau Musar Wine Dinner (Sarah and Andre's): Darker ruby with slight black flecs, slight bricking; darker berry fruit, tangy sweet blackberry/bramble, and light black earth note; slight raisin with hoisan sauce spices; medium plus acidity, barely perceptible fine tannins; this is quite fruity with sweet tangy dark berry fruits--unusual for a 22 year old wine! This was drinker very well, somewhat youthful, balanced, but not as complex as the 2000 and 1996 IMHO. (5057 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 2/22/2013: Musar at its best, ripe, sweet, fruit cakey, spicy, broad and deep (4609 views) | |
| Tasted by sindbad on 1/25/2013: Muddy appearance. In the mouth, quite zippy thanks to a fine streak of acidity. Not as rich and middle-Eastern as some of the other Musars. A pleasing freshness. (4657 views) | |
| Tasted by tonsta on 1/3/2013 & rated 94 points: Had NYE. Cracking wine, sweetness combined with earthiness....... (4810 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 12/21/2012 & rated 94 points: Little to add about this wine. It is one of the best Musars which are very un-covered by the critics. It doesn't help that because it is from Lebanon you have no reference on the quality of vintages. This had the weird hit of sweetness on the first taste that I've seen in past bottles. This bottle was further along than others I've had and at the end of its drinking plateau. Tertiary aromas were wonderful - leather, soy, sandlewood and they changed as the night went on. The wine seemed light on first opening and then got heavier as the night went on. Lovely bottle (4462 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 12/11/2012 & rated 93 points: Still my favorite Musar. I came across a case of this at a reasonable price. I love the fact that people don't know these wines. As with others, you have the great open bouquet which fills the room. In the mouth there is the strange sweet hit, which I've only seen in this vintage. Integrated tannin, this one still drinking, but getting near the end. Truly great wine, although I've had even better from this vintage (4037 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 10/10/2012 & rated 95 points: I'm lucky, I've had a number of Musars. This is my favorite vintage and this was no exception. Classic Musar nose: earth, leaves, tea. In the mouth a hit of sweetness, where did that come from? Medium body, chocolate, beautifully integrated fruit and structure, good acidity. Long finish. This is my last bottle - I need to find some more. (4412 views) | |
| Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 9/29/2012 & rated 97 points: Bricked medium red violet color with pale meniscus; anise, garrigue, tart berry, dried berry, spice nose; tasty, poised, silky textured, mature, baked raspberry, anise, cherry cola, tart berry palate; long finish (2115 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 6/12/2012 & rated 96 points: White Asparagus Dinner at Greg & Sayo's. (Their Place, Hong Kong): Double-decanted 10 hours in advance. Dusky but bright semi-transparent damask ruby colour. Nose is dark red ripe cherries, patchouli oil, cinnamon stick and a bit of damp wild boar. Palate has a pronounced initial fresh acid attack then moves into sharp red cherry and fresh red turkish delight and then a ....BANG! finish with absolutely huge reverberant resonance that just keeps chiming bass bells in the back of your cranium. Over time, sweetness emerges on the nose...and cigar box....and the palate also gets sweeter.....old-fashioned cherry-flavoured boiled sweets...and complimented by fully powdered but still robust tannin and still maintaining that lovely patchouli oil sub-theme. It has a light, billowing mouthfeel and just such huge resonant power that goes on and on. It stayed so good right through a long night....rock solid and clearly with so many years ahead of it. It still has huge ripe fruit - succulent plums - and will be amazing in another 10 years but it is so gorgeous to drink now. Thrilling and completely silence-creating.....Greg's comparison with 1970s Grange was spot-on. It beat the 1985 L'Evangile on the night. (5331 views) | |
| Tasted by sharonandroland on 6/6/2012 & rated 95 points: Powerful and rich with all the quality of a Musar with years to go (4713 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 6/1/2012 & rated 96 points: Five Decades of Chateau Musar....with Serge Hochar (Shanghai Room, Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong): Tasted blind as one of 12 vintages over 5 decades. Small serving. Dusky semi-transparent ruby colour but with a still younger purple-ruby hue at the core. Nose is gosh, lovely high-toned rosewater light perfume with a firmer spine of prune stones in the background. Palate is WOW!....light in mouthfeel but with enormous power....huge depth of complex red/black fruits, temple smoke, a myriad of dry Eastern spices, orange brick-dust powdered tannin finish and a mounting, near-endless resonance inside the head on the finale. Absolutaly thrilling. My #1 and the group's #1, apparently by an historic margin of consensus for HKWS tastings. (6252 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 4/13/2012 & rated 93 points: Musarathon (Strictly Rhythm, London): I love this lily of the valley V/A nose followed by the rich sweet fruit and all the herbs and spices. Fresh, multi-layered and it goes on and on. Brilliant. (5697 views) | |
| Tasted by cooberp on 4/13/2012 & rated 90 points: Musarathon (Strictly Rhythm, London): Very cloudy, sediment-laden brick color. Cherry pie on the nose, brown sugar and soy on the midpalate before the acidity hits in the back. Fellow tasters said this was *the* archetypal Musar, but it didn't particularly stand out for me. (7646 views) | |
| Tasted by L Nierop on 3/18/2012 & rated 95 points: Deep salmon in colour with a bricky rim. Superb nose. Delicate sweet red fruit with an intense cedary/incense element and a touch of volatility. Sweet fruited, lithe, elegant in the mouth. Such perfume and lift. Acidity more than tannin. Cedar, mushroom, red cherry sweets. There's something in this wine which reminds me of Latour '61. Sublime. (6029 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 3/17/2012 & rated 93 points: Great unique wine. Almost a toffee taste, with a sweetness mixed in with the smokiness. I've noticed an interesting thing with the older Musar the wines. They start feeling almost light bodied, but by the end of the bottle they've gained weight and are much fuller. Odd but good. (5469 views) | |
| Tasted by chbeaumont on 3/11/2012 & rated 93 points: Retains a good colour; complex, classical; brooding, verging on magnificent. Will age effortlessly. (5380 views) | |
| Tasted by Kirk Grant on 2/28/2012 & rated 94 points: Color: Brick colored Ruby Smell: dried red fruits, mushrooms, earth, anise, and forest floor Taste: Cranberries, dried red fruits, strawberries, plum, and hints of cement Overall: Complex and a wonderful example of aged Musar...lovely. (5682 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 1/21/2012 & rated 94 points: Chú Xī (除夕) Dinner at Home on Chinese New Year Eve (Our Place, Hong Kong): Aged but perfectly sound cork. Decanted 5 hours before serving. Dusky, amber-hued almost transparent colour showing slightly suspended sediment and totally watery at the edges of the glass. Nose is immediate OMG heady classic old Musar with loads of immediate red berry fruits and Chinese "gay jee" (small red dates) that evolves into very deep dusky cherry and old leather luggage and tea-box packing cases but also with a high lifted note in there somewhere too. Palate is initially very sweet dusty air-dried strawberries, slightly stewed sweet tea, raspberries, cherry stone and rose hip syrup that then became very high-noted, sharp but very lifted and precise, linear attack of cherry liqueur intermingled with cinnamon stick and temple smoke....very young, not yet rounded or resolved and hasn't reached any harmony yet. More temple smoke and Eastern spices came forward with extended time in the glass. Glorious resonance and reverberance over a very long finish. This is still a work in progress and has years of further development ahead of it....this will get as good as the 1970s Musars, I think. (6159 views) | |
| Tasted by manonthemoon on 12/28/2011 & rated 94 points: Notes from a final glass of a bottle opened and decanted for about 2 hours. Dark red with some brown on the edges. Nose had lots of florals showing with cardamon, tobacco, a little black plum and prune as well. Palate of black cherry, a little dried cherry as well, pipe tobacco, lots floral, and lots spice. The finish was above average in length, medium bodied, and okay acidity for its age. Overall this was a fantastic bottle of wine, really impressed it showed so well as the fill was shoulder level and the cork wasn't in the best of shape. Love these wines, they never seem to disappoint for my palate. The wife loved it even more than I did. Drink up: 50+5+14+18+7 (5885 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 12/19/2011 & rated 95 points: Another amazing 91 Musar. On opening the wine the bouquet filled the room - tobacco, ripe plum and earth. In the mouth a big prune taste, with wonderful fruit and fully integrated tannin. Lots of complexity and again a weird mix between old burgundy with more of a backbone. Long, long after taste. I just love this wine. I've recently found a few more, older Musars, and it will be interesting to see if it is this vintage, or there are other vintages like this. This is drinking beautifully now, very mature, but it is not on the decline yet and can go longer. Fuller mouthfeel than previous bottles. (5990 views) | |
| Tasted by grafstrb on 9/23/2011 & rated 90 points: Chateau Musar Tasting (Harrogate Fine Wine Company): -- double decanted approximately 2.5 hours before tasting -- -- tasted a single pour non-blind over approx. 10 minutes, and then another pour approximately 1 hour later -- Garnet color with bricking at the edges; color was of medium depth. Subtle Nose of leather, aged cherry and strawberry licorice. Palate was more playful, with flavors of leather, cacao, tart red fruits and raspberry seeds, sand, and funk (bit of brett). This wine gave me the impression that, although it’s in a good place now, is probably just a bit past its peak. Time to drink ‘em if you’re still sitting on them, or watch them (continue to) fade gracefully over the next decade. B: 50, 5, 12, 16, 7 = 90 (7244 views) | |
| Tasted by dedrislee on 6/19/2011 & rated 89 points: Heard a lot about this cult wine, have some in the cellar. Shoulder level, oops, 10% evaporated, cork fully soaked. Cork is crumbling using corkscrew, had to change it to old cork extractor. Decant. Instant strong damp wood stench, earth, mushroom, but not the truffle variety. Vanilla, overripe cherries, plums, minerals earth showing up after 2 hours. Crimson coloured, sediments, rusty looking. Tannin in the foreground, rather closed initially, layers of strawberry, gooseberry, citrus fruits, orange peel on the palate revealing itself with some time. Dry fruits finish lasting more than 30 sec. I think I should leave it air for longer, certainly it's personality is not straightforward, as I been warned about it's characteristics, I have agreed it is not a typical BDX (7374 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 6/16/2011 & rated 94 points: These 91 Musars continue to drink wonderfully. A sense of cocoa and a velvety mouthfeel that takes you unawares. The more recent Musars I've drunk have had an edge to them. Maybe the answer is always to wait them out and let them age. (7263 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 6/3/2011 & rated 93 points: 8th Annual Blind Challenge (The Square, Mayfair, London): Sweet bruised fruit, lovely enveloping lily fragrance (aka V/A), high acid, absolutely gorgeous - in the 30 seconds before Jamie suggested Musar I was thinking it was very grand burgundy (8242 views) | |
| Tasted by Winevestor on 5/15/2011 & rated 96 points: Oh boy, oh boy oh boy. I've had a number of Musars '96 and younger. I've always enjoyed them but had them down as Burgundy wannabe. This bottle I was worried by; the ullage was half way down the shoulder. I commented to my retailer who told me that Musar was notoriously messy on bottle fill. Call me sceptical. The cork was also wet on top. The bottle was fine, instantly the room filled with a chocolate, earthy, plummy smell. It was a bigger mouth feel than I was expecting (velvety) and the fruit was young and healthy. This boy can still go a lot longer. A wine where you kept putting it back to your nose to resmell. I immediately went out and found more. One of my top wines of the year so far. (7473 views) | |
| Tasted by sayornis on 5/5/2011: Favorite of the night. Description: "redcurrant, plum and a certain meaty quality mark the bouquet. Full bore plum/cherry/currant falvours offset by a barely perceptible kiss of oak." (7351 views) | |
| Tasted by IAMVLAD on 12/26/2010 & rated 84 points: much of the appeal of this wine has been lost with age. very little fruit left.based on other ratings my bottle may have been atypical. (7706 views) | |
| Tasted by MRichman on 11/24/2010: Smooth, sweet, perfumed. Lots of floral baking spices, a bit of acidic tannins, rubbery sweet cherry fruit. Wonderfully mature. Some tar. Very nice. Elegant. No rush. B/B+ (7825 views) | |
| Tasted by asgerG on 11/13/2010 & rated 95 points: Magnificent brick red, mature orange rim, 4. Fantastic opulent complex mature nose, etheric, fine sweetness, dried fruits and flowers. Harmonious taste, the sweetness is there again, mature tannins. Elegant and perfectly matured specimen! Drink now. Reminded me of a very mature Brunello! I have been dissapointed of the Musar's from the late 90'ties and early 00's, but this one shows how good this wine can be. Thanks Frank for sharing this one with me. (8092 views) | |
| Tasted by jan erik on 10/30/2010 & rated 88 points: A good wine with the usual Musar fingerprint like nailpolish and overmature strawberries. Dies rather quickly in the glass so no point in let it breathe long. Declining and not the best Musar I had. Drink up (7978 views) | |
| Tasted by Milhous on 10/3/2010: This was not a perfect bottle. Cork was moldy and bottle had low fill and signs of seepage. Still interesting, but more advanced and less bright than a previous bottle that was spectacular. Like an old Hermitage with cherry, leather, and earth. Musar is a wild ride. (8477 views) | |
| Tasted by Greg_O on 9/12/2010 & rated 96 points: Gorgeous nose of sea breeze, iodine, and mushrooms. Palate is layered and long with cumin spice, earth, raspberry/cranberry fruit, leather and herbs. A stunning wine - drinking wonderfully now. I found the 91 to be burgundian in it's elegance while the '99 musar which still has the power and structure typical of a left bank bordeaux. (8376 views) | |
| Tasted by Milos on 9/3/2010 & rated 86 points: Unfortunately , this bottle was past its prime. The cork was wet on all around although the ullage was fine. Colour was quite light. The nose was typical Musar with spicy cinnamon, strawberry and leather. The palate was acidic and nearly no fruit. Good length but not enjoyable. (7540 views) | |
| Tasted by TheGreenFrog on 8/27/2010 & rated 94 points: Decanted 20 mins before drinking. Continued to evolve for at least 30 mins in glass (by which time all was gone!). Very well balanced wine; fully mature, very long and wonderful acidity. Fantastic. (7591 views) | |
| Tasted by naina8 on 8/15/2010: Real treat - - saddle leather, pale ruby. Very, very delicate, though. Little fruit remaining - wish I'd had it one year ago. (7658 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 8/13/2010: Keith's 2010 Blind Challenge 2 (28-50, London): Gorgeous nose. Smokey, beefy, sweet fruit. Trevallon-like. No, apparently it's from a country we haven't had a wine from so far tonight so it has to be Musar. Yes. No guess on vintage though. This is a very good bottle of 91 Moose, probably the best of the half dozen or so I've had. ****1/2 (8253 views) | |
| Tasted by Morningstar on 8/7/2010 & rated 90 points: clear, waterly, pale redish brown color; ripe fruits nose; on the palate, delicious ripe fruits, mouth watering acidity; fully dissolved taninn; drinking beautifully; very good! (7337 views) | |
| Tasted by trufflehunter on 7/28/2010 & rated 93 points: superb, holding up very well, i feel this may get better yet ! 93+ (7028 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 2/18/2010: Musar & Pinot (L'Abat Jour, London): Nicely mellow nose, not quite burgundian but getting there; a creamy quality that reminds Damien of Cal pinots. Palate is tighter and hotter. Again, not the best bottle of this but it's showing reasonably well, although overshadowed by the 89 and 81 for me on the night. ***1/2 (8011 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 2/10/2010: Musar @ Mohsen (Mohsen, Warwick Road, London): Sharp, edgy, spicy, of course, direct, but a bit coarse (8009 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 2/10/2010 flawed bottle: Musar @ Mohsen (Mohsen, Warwick Road, London): Atypical more for the 91. Spoofy southern Rhone nose but spoofy and VA palate. Cheap cherry brandy nose developing. Huge bottle variation here. (8028 views) | |
| Tasted by Kirk Grant on 10/23/2009 & rated 95 points: Another gathering on the island (66 Mouton, Lascombes, Musar, and photos...) (Scott Worcester's in Southwest Harbor, ME): This was such a treat...Pale ruby in the glass with an amazing nose awash with a melange of red fruits, cement, earth, funk, cinnamon, and herbs. This was such a powerhouse of a wine and seemed so very young for an 18 year old wine. In the mouth this light bodied wine shines with flavors that last on the palate for a minute or more as the wine transitions seamlessly through red fruits, spice, cement dust, and finishes with a lingering note of wild strawberry...Still so very young. This is nowhere near the end of it's life. (8828 views) | |
| Tasted by Philippe_C on 9/23/2009 & rated 95 points: Waouwww nose of brown sugar, gamey, caramel, strawberries jam, superb volatile acidity... in the month, very evolved and mature and has a lot of potential ahead... sublime wine!! (7639 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 8/26/2009 & rated 94 points: Light cherry red, completely transparent. Gosh.... very sweet and highly perfumed nose of slight saddle leather, beeswax and sweet incense. Sweetness and incredible roundness on the front palate with powerful but very balanced acidity surging through on the mid palate. Heady and resonant on the finish with the perfume doing a comeback. Clean, elegant, refined, light but with real power. Fully resolved but still structured velvety tannins. More fruit emerges with time....wild ripe blackberries, blackcurrants and ripe woodland strawberries. Doesn't fade at all over extended time in the glass or the decanter. Petroleum-ish but extremely pleasant light, spirited resonance. I seriously thought that the perfumed notes were partly contributed by a woman sitting nearby...so much so that I walked over to check. No, the perfume was Musar's alone. Decanted for 20 minutes before pouring and then consumed over 2 hours with a close friend at the Island Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong where they have been selling this for lower than the current retail price for the past few years. Unfortunately this was their last bottle and they are now moving on to the 1999. What a great last hurrah! Absolutely delightful. (7376 views) | |
| Tasted by rjonwine@gmail.com on 6/19/2009 & rated 96 points: Richard and Sandy's Round Robin Dinner (Chablis, Tignanellos, Musars and '89 Bordeaux) (Chez TJ, Mountain View, California): Medium cherry red color with pale meniscus; mature, tart cherry, rhubarb and golden raisins nose; tasty, spicy, dried currant, fig and plum palate; long finish 96+ pts. (my WOTF) (6857 views) | |
| Tasted by trufflehunter on 4/27/2009 & rated 93 points: Pale crimson, almost rose colour, very light transparent. Soft bouquet, red fruit, raisins, dried fruits, spice, leather tobacco. Palate; sweet red fruit, big aromatic wood and spice, soft and gentle complex lingering flavours. Well balanced classy wine. Should keep well for 5-10 years more. Excellent. 93pts. (6572 views) | |
| Tasted by JamesM on 4/13/2009 & rated 92 points: Chateau Musar, 1991 & 2000 A pair of Musar vintages, and quite a contrast. The older was showing its age in its red brick colour, where the younger was deep purple to the rim. Both shared the varnish/polish/aldehyde scent that I associate with Musar. The contrast in flavours was quite marked. In the 2000, ripe damson and morello cherry flavours were more pronounced than in the ’91, where a perfect balance of more mature, spicy, savoury notes combined with residual dried fruits. Tannins in both were resolved and fine, balance in both was excellent and they were delicious wines with the game we ate. These restored my somewhat tarnished view of Musar and demonstrated the need for long cellaring. I wish we had a few more 1991’s to look forward to but, sadly, this was the last of a case. If I had more 2000’s, too, I would be very pleased and would put them away for longer term drinking. (6508 views) | |
| Tasted by Colima74 on 3/22/2009 & rated 92 points: Showing some bricking, but fresh on the palate. Lots of red fruit, spice, acidity, making this very easy to drink and a good with a mediteranean style soup. From 375. 4.0- (6556 views) | |
| Tasted by pbaek on 2/8/2009: 2003 CdP tasting at Rothmann's Steakhouse, New York. Do not recall much other than this wine made a positive impression on me. Will have to try another bottle. (6135 views) | |
| Tasted by gukarl on 11/30/2008 & rated 89 points: Not the best bottle, low fill and wet cork. The wine was good though. Borwn rim, classic Musar with VA and dried fruit on the nose. The palate was perhaps a bit sweet, but the balance is good with fine acidity. Don't think this bottles would have lasted much longer. (6261 views) | |
| Tasted by BradKNYC on 11/11/2008: Sharon Bowman returns to NY with an eclectic mix.: Aromatically, I liked the ’88 better than the ‘91, but this is the better wine. Ladies should keep their manicured nails away from this one as there is a big blast of volatile acidity here that pretty much dominates the nose. While still there on the palate, it is nowhere near as dominating as it is on the nose. Brighter, redder and fresher than the ’88 with livelier acidity. Deep, long and complex with delicious red fruit, spice and a pleasant tobacco streak. A-. (4249 views) | |
| Tasted by Keith Levenberg on 11/7/2008 & rated 90 points: Still some grittiness to the tannin here, but developing nicely, red fruit and funk with an unmistakeable whiff of good old-fashioned merde in the background. (5875 views) | |
| Tasted by Jeff W on 5/24/2008: Faded and pale. It gives the impression of a very mature wine, much older than 1991. For all that it is an enjoyable and interesting wine, delicious, with complex tertiary flavours, nice balance and a good length. Quite sweet. dg (5572 views) | |
| Tasted by Keith Cooper on 4/11/2008 & rated 80 points: Two bottles were drunk with a group of 7 friends, all Musar fans, to accompany duck. Plenty of sediment, so opened and decanted about 2 hours before drinking. There was a definite variation between the two bottles. Both showed considerable signs of browning reflecting their age. The noses were quite different - the first quite fruity, the second a definite hint of nail varnish, but after about 20 minutes in the glass both had a pleasant if not pronounced nose. On the palate, both very drinkable, the first being somewhat smoother and richer, the second less balanced. Reasonable length for this age of Musar. These are certainly not improving any more, although there were mixed feelings about exactly how long these would last. Some thought just a couple more years, others thought as much as 10-20 more years (though I think not). A real experience to try this older vintage of Musar, especially to try two bottles alongside and note the bottle variation. (5519 views) | |
| Tasted by Goldstone on 1/19/2008 & rated 91 points: Drunk with friends over dinner at Crown Wine Cellar, Hong Kong. Decanted 8 hours before consumption. Fully translucent rich red colour. Classic Musar cedar wood nose with Eastern spices, perfumed cigar box and no trace of VA. Lovely balance on the palate, poised spice and fruit, lots of finesse....this is a Burgundian Musar. High acidity but very well integrated. Light. Very feminine. Reasonable length. Some "in your head" qualities but will be interesting to see if it adds more fruit as it ages.....I think it will. (5680 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 1/18/2008: Pale to mid-garnet. Good sweet fruit, light textured, fragrant, enchanting, nice acidity and length. Very charming Musar, no bret-bomb here. Lovely. ***1/2 (5714 views) | |
| Tasted by 60ouvrees on 11/25/2007: Fading, no tannins, delicate fruit. Pleasant wine but nothing special and definitely time to drink up. (5742 views) | |
| Tasted by bsherwin on 10/21/2007: Chateau Musar Dinner with Serge Honchar (Tabla): Seemed to me to fairly textbook Musar, but with out any distinguishing characteristics of its own. It showed perfumy arromas with sour red cherries. The delicate fruit was well-balanced with medium-acidity. A fine effort with nothing out of place, but I did not find it compelling. It reminded me a bit of an older Chevalier, so there certainly will be plenty of fans for this one. (6901 views) | |
| Tasted by splashjj on 8/13/2007 & rated 92 points: Wonderful aromas, great taste with a sweet spicy finish... Ready to drink, don't wait much longer. Wish I had a whole case left. (5842 views) | |
| Tasted by drwine2001 on 3/22/2007: A big disappointment after looking forward to trying this wine. Lightish color, somewhat cloudy. Obvious and dominant VA on the nose which carries through to the palate to shorten the finish. Fruit is fading fast; not enough sweetness to balance the elevated VA. I don't know if this bottle was representative, but it was definitely on a downward slope. This impression was shared by "the wine guy" in the restaurant, who graciously whisked it away so we could drink something more enjoyable. In almost any other wine, you'd check this off as a flawed bottle; however, knowing that Musar sometimes gravitates in this direction, I think this is just at one end of the spectrum of variability for this producer. I wouldn't have pounded my fists demanding that they take back a wine like this, but it clearly exceeded my tolerance for this aromatic profile. While the fans of this property extoll it with almost religious fervor, I have found too many ups and downs to justify buying it regularly. (6310 views) | |
| Tasted by gukarl on 2/27/2007 & rated 91 points: Very nice, some VA on the nose. Light brown colour, long aftertaste; a brilliant Musar. Will hold for a long time yet. (5867 views) | |
| Tasted by SimonG on 12/23/2006: Worryingly low level (mid shoulder), cork wet through and crumbly at top. Initial smell slightly oloroso-like. Decanted 3 hours in advance. Mid garnet to brick red/brown. Quite a bretty, farmyardy nose initially. Then more port-like. framyardy aromas seem to have blown off in the glass. Nice weight and acidity. Good, slightly sweet fruit, not unlike a southern Rhone grenache. Lovely stuff. Ready now but absolutely no hurry. Complex, long, quite subtle and beguiling. A good Musar. Will drink the remaining bottles over the next decade. (5933 views) | |
| Tasted by andrewstevenson.com on 6/9/2006 & rated 93 points: An International Challenge: Languedoc vs. South Africa (World Service Restaurant, Nottingham): 14% abv. A mature cherry red. Sweet nose with some VA. Very musarey. Sweetish palate. Lovely stuff. Excellent. My third time with Musar 1991, and it's just getting better. (7791 views) | |
| Tasted by Nanda on 5/17/2006 & rated 87 points: Dinner at Inside (NYC): Color is a mature garnet with brown notes. Nose has a touch of VA, dark musty fruits and minerals. A racey, light-to-medium bodied wine. Unusual. (7251 views) | |
| Tasted by Rupert on 5/6/2006 & rated 91 points: On top form, fragrant, herby, lovely balance of sweetness and acid, plenty of punch - reminder of how good Musar can be (6425 views) | |
| Tasted by bestdamncab on 12/28/2005 & rated 94 points: Tasting of six vintages from Mike's cellar, first place. Oldest orange color in the glass of the group. Lovely nose of tar, cedar, earth, and dark cherry fruit, more of the same on the palate, very sweet taste of fruit, lots of medium body to taste, medium finish with hints of acid. (2894 views) | |
| Tasted by tendring on 10/17/2005 & rated 82 points: Quite light showing considerable age. Vegetal nose, vanilla and furniture polish. Fruit and acidity in the attack, lacking refinement, medium length. (2408 views) | |
| Tasted by bendrew on 5/8/2005 & rated 93 points: Wonderful forward nose of coffee, leather and stewed fruits - this was an exciting bottle. Structure was good in the mouth and the finish was long. For me, 1991 was the best Musar in the 1990s. (6101 views) | |
| Tasted by andrewstevenson.com on 11/24/2004 & rated 88 points: An attractive mature burgundy colour. Excellent nose, though again not especially Musarey, with sweet musky tobacco and cassis. Excellent mature Musar flavours in the mouth: very rich. Rather sweet on the finish and a touch spirity. Inordinate length. Very Good/Very Good Indeed. (6576 views) | |
| Tasted by andrewstevenson.com on 10/10/2003 & rated 87 points: Acetone VA nose. Rich sweet attack. Very Good, but I prefer the 1996. (5624 views) | |
| Tasted by tendring on 3/7/2002: Wine Education Service - Château Musar: Fairly orange coloured. A refined vegetal nose. Elegant well balanced wine, medium length. (2801 views) | |
| Tasted by andrewstevenson.com on 2/22/2002 & rated 90 points: Edinburgh Offline (Peter's Cellars): (Served blind) Fabulous nose. Very forward, almost pinot noir in style, although the fruit is hidden by a volatile sweetness on the nose. Seems very sweet and full on the palate and almost oily. Possibly Burgundy? Rather odd though. Very Good Indeed. (Reading the note afterwards, it's clear this was Musar - how on earth did I miss it?) (8027 views) | |
| Tasted by JeffGMorris on 1/6/2001: A lot of sediment. Significant bricking but still some fruit. Interesting as a curiosity but not much more. (5620 views) |
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Chateau MusarProducer websiteSource: VinConnect (VinConnect.com) Housed in an 18th century castle in Ghazir, about 25 km north of Beirut, Chateau Musar was founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar, inspired by Lebanon’s 6,000-year winemaking tradition and his friendship with Ronald Barton of Chateau Leoville-Barton in Saint Julien. The estate’s name in Arabic is ‘M’zar,’ meaning “place of extraordinary beauty/shrine to be visited,” an ideal name for this fascinating estate. The vines for the estate’s unique wines are located in the famed Bekaa Valley, an area celebrated for its viticulture since Biblical times. At the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanon’s favorable geographical and climatic conditions have always held abundant promise for the cultivation of grapes. The Bekaa Valley is positioned particularly well, nestled between the ‘Lebanon’ and ‘Anti-Lebanon’ mountain ranges at 34° N of the equator. The vineyards of Musar are planted at altitudes ranging from 1,000 – 1,500 meters (3,280 – 4,921 ft) above sea level. The vines benefit from cool nights and seasonal temperatures (snow in winter and hot summers), resulting in long ripening periods. The vineyard soils are predominantly calcareous/limestone with gravel and stone, resulting in wines of distinctive character and blends of appealing complexity. The vineyards’ remote location coupled with the Hochar family’s respect for the environment has resulted in ‘organic’ vineyards by default since the 1950s, even long before the term was coined. The estate obtained organic certification for its vineyards in 2005, the first producer in Lebanon to do so. All the grapes are hand-harvested by local Bedouins in the cool of the morning in order to preserve freshness, the harvest usually taking place between August and October. The Chateau Musar winery is located in Ghazir about two and a half hour’s drive from the Bekaa Valley. The cellars are dug into the mountainside providing perfect condition for long term wine storage. The wines of Chateau Musar are produced with a ‘non-interventionist’ wine making philosophy; fermentation starts naturally with ambient yeasts, the bare minimum of sulfur is used and the Chateau Musar wines are neither fined nor filtered. Individual varieties from different vineyards are kept separately up to two years, and constantly tasted to understand their unique personalities and characteristics. The final blending process is an intrinsic part of the winemaking art at Chateau Musar — winemaking by instinct. The estate produces three lines: the flagship range includes Chateau Musar Red, Chateau Musar White and Chateau Musar Rosé; Hochar Père et Fils Red – a more accessible red, produced from a single vineyard site in the Bekaa Valley and ready to drink upon release at year five (as opposed to Chateau Musar Red which the family recommends to drink starting from year 15); and Musar Jeune — unoaked vibrant wines intended for immediate drinking. The Chateau Musar Red and White wines undergo lengthy bottle ageing in the estate cellars and are released only after seven years. Chateau Musar first achieved international recognition during the Bristol Wine Fair in England in 1979, where the wine press and prominent critics including Michael Broadbent declared it “the discovery of the fair”. In 1984, Decanter wine magazine named Serge Hochar their first ever “Man of the Year” for his extraordinary achievements, determination and dedication to producing outstanding wines during the difficult years of the Lebanese civil war. Today, Chateau Musar wines are known worldwide for their finesse, elegance and extraordinary ability to age, and the estate still offers mesmerizing wines dating back to the 1950’s. Speaking about the wines of Chateau Musar, Serge Hochar said “the harmony of nature is better than anything we could ever create. I believe it should be a priority to seek to drink what is ‘true’ rather than what is ‘good’ “. When speaking about quality in wine he added “I once produced a wine that was technically perfect but it lacked the charms of imperfection”. With its captivating history and the incredible passion and dedication of the Hochar family, Chateau Musar has achieved a sort of cult-like status and is one of the most written-about and discussed wines in the world today. Chateau MusarA guide to the styleIn youth, Chateau Musar Reds are dense and richly-textured, with intense ‘baked fruit’ characters: plums, damsons, cranberries, cherries, figs and dates. Bordeaux grape Cabernet Sauvignon lends black fruit flavours; Rhône grapes Cinsault and Carignan contribute fragrance (violets; pepper) and supple spiciness. Either set of qualities might dominate a particular vintage, but the style is always emphatically Lebanese: enticingly aromatic, with persistent fruit flavours. Over decades the wines acquire tawny hues and mellow notes. We still offer wines from the 1950s: mesmerising artefacts of vintage. Grapes and vines Seven years in the making, Chateau Musar Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from vineyards near the Bekaa Valley villages of Ammiq, Aana and Kefraya on gravelly soils over limestone. Planted from the 1930s onwards, yields are low from these mature bushvines (average age: 40 years): 35hl per hectare. Winemaking The varietal components in Chateau Musar Red undergo lengthy fermentations in cement-lined vats at temperatures below 30°C. Racked from their yeast ‘lees’ 6 months after the harvest they are transferred into French barrels (oak from the forest of Nevers, one-third new each vintage) for one year. Blending The varietal components are brought together two years after the harvest; the resulting blend is then placed back in cement-lined tanks before being bottled 12 months later. Each wine is blended to reflect the strengths of the vintage: in hotter years, Cabernet Sauvignon might dominate (the thick-skinned grapes fare better in the heat); cooler conditions can favour the Cinsault grape. After 4 years’ bottle maturation in the deep stone cellars of Chateau Musar, the finished wines are released a full seven years after the harvest. Decanting and serving Bottled unfined and unfiltered, Chateau Musar Reds are suitable for vegans (fining agents often contain animal proteins); they’re also richly-textured and likely to ‘throw a crust’. This is a common feature of most fine wines and is especially true of Musar Red vintages over a decade old. Ideally, bottles should be stood up the night before opening to settle any sediment. After careful decanting (and discarding of sediment, usually in the last centimetre of the bottle) the wine should be allowed to breathe for several hours and served at 18°C with roasts, grills (especially lamb), casseroles, game, and mature cheeses. Storage To keep the wines showing at their best, bottles must be cellared in darkness, lying on their sides and not subjected to unnecessary movement or fluctuations in temperature. Red Blend. |