WCC Blind Tasting of Chateau Musar and Chateau Montrose

Salty's Pub & Bistro, Clifton Park, NY
Tasted Thursday, November 5, 2015 by kenv with 571 views

Introduction

My Albany area group gathered to taste wines provided by one member (Larry S). The wines were served totally blind. That is, we were told absolutely nothing about the wines before or during the tasting. John Marzilli and his staff prepared an excellent and abundant meal to go with the wines.

For photos and more info:

http://www.finewinegeek.com/tn/2015-11-05_WCC_Snavs_Saltys/

Flight 1 - Flight 1: 1970s Musar (4 Notes)

Flight 2 - Flight 2: 1983 and 1986 Musar and Montrose (4 Notes)

  • 1983 Château Montrose 95 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Classic Bordeaux nose. Lively, complex. Mature, but absolutely delicious tonight. A welcome change from the first flight. My #3 WOTN. Group #3 WOTN.

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  • 1983 Chateau Musar

    Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

    [Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Off. Corked. Or maybe it was my glass since others like it a lot.

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  • 1986 Château Montrose 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Yummy, mulchy, complex. Long and delicious. I'm pretty sure at this point, that this flight is some kind of Old World mature Cabernet.

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  • 1986 Chateau Musar 91 Points

    Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

    [Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] A touch bitter, but complex and interesting.

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Flight 3 - Flight 3: 1989 and 1990 Musar and Montrose (4 Notes)

  • 1989 Chateau Musar 93 Points

    Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Mulch and red fruit nose. Complex, long, sweet, interesting.

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  • 1989 Château Montrose 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] A real beast of a wine. Tannic and structure. Young and complex. This wine has a great future. Still backward. 94-?? Group #2 WOTN.

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  • 1990 Chateau Musar 94 Points

    Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Sweet, complex, soft tannins. Long and interesting finish. A gorgeous wine.

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  • 1990 Château Montrose 96 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Sweet and nearly perfect to drink tonight. Such a gorgeous and seductive wine. Still young, but ready. Should drink well for 20 more years, but why wait? My #2 WOTN by a narrow margin.

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Flight 4 - Flight 4: 1999 and 2000 Musar and Montrose (5 Notes)

  • 1999 Château Montrose 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Complex, long delicious. What a great tasting! By now, I'm sure these are Old World Cabernet-based wines of great quality.

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  • 1999 Chateau Musar 93 Points

    Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Black and red fruit nose. Complex, long, delicious.

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  • 2000 La Dame de Montrose 93 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Lively, vivacious. Delicious tonight.

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  • 2000 Château Montrose 94 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Tannic and luscious. This must be the youngest wine of the evening by quite a bit. We have traveled a long way from Flight 1!

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  • 2000 Chateau Musar 96 Points

    Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

    [Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Just a terrific, multilayered wine. My WOTN by a narrow margin. A great way to end this wonderful tasting.

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Closing

This was a wonderful experience. It is certainly challenging to taste wines totally blind and have to make up your own mind without external clues. It's like reading or watching a great mystery that you can't fully appreciate until the very end.

In this case, I was quite sure by flight 3 that these were all Old World-style Cabernet-based wines. I thought most likely Bordeaux, but something hinted that they could be Spanish or Italian. Guess I had to go a little farther east for the Musar.

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