Musar Vertical

Musar vertical. Everything was tasted blindly. All wines were decanted and refilled in another bottle about 8 hours before the tasting.

• 2003 Chateau Musar Blanc

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Beautiful golden color; aromas of ripe mirabelles, honey, slightly oxidative, yet very fresh and clear with layers of fresh minerality; gains weight and power with air and time. Slightly nutty finish. Exceptionally elegant with a lot of potential still. 18/20

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• 1997 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Bright, feminine nose with fresh, juicy red berries, some volatile acidity, pickles, smoke, very burgundian. Wonderfully crisp palate with lots of energy, finely woven, with very high acidity. Lingers for eternity. Could really be mistaken for a top-notch Burgundy. Quite singular in its style. My last experience with this was quite different, yet both time amazing. 18.5/20

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• 1998 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  This is much darker and meatier on the nose than the 1997, it's quite wild and animal with leather and barnyard notes. A powerhouse without a doubt and a real contrast to the finely woven 1997. The palate is meaty and stuffed with beautiful ripe dark fruit. Also lots of spice especially on the finish. Very complex with almost infinite potential. 19+/20

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• 1999 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  What a heavenly nose full of sweet fresh strawberry fruit, fresh herbs, some volatile acidity, but just extremely well balanced and graceful. Absolutely mesmerizing, something to dream about. The palate is a true stunner as well, it‘s elegant, aristocratic even, very polished not only for Musar standards, with a perfect balance between heavenly sweet, melting fruit, freshness and spice. Also infinitely long. Close to perfection for my palate, also the favorite of the groupe. 20/20

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• 1998 Château Cos d'Estournel

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

  The first pirate of this vertical tasting, not identified as such by the participants. Quite a bulky nose with leather and barn notes, but also nice cassis fruit, pepper and smoke. Less convincing on the palate, a bit too "green", too little pressure on the midpalate, also quite bitter tannins especially compared to the Musars, much less complexity as well. I think this Chateau can do much better. 16.5/20

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• 2001 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Here we go again with one of my favourite vintages, this shows incredible power on the nose with stunning intensity, this has meaty, powerful red berries, juicy cherries, blood and some medicinal / funky notes, also some black pepper and dried fruits like figs. The palate is in total harmony here, it’s definitely much more powerful and meatier than the sweet "godess" 1999, but shows the same impeccable balance and may have even more potential for the future. 20/20

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• 2002 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  The nose is on the darker side here, quite a lot of funkiness, some alcohol on the nose as well, medicinal, very exotic, but less complex than some others at least this bottle; tannins show prominently here on the finish. Not the most convincing showing of this wine this evening, still excellent of course. 17.5/20

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• 2006 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Powerful nose here, fresh red berries, blood / iron, lovely sweet strawberries, acetone, fresh herbs; the palate shows gigantic structure and immense promise for the future. This is or better will be absolutely breathtaking once its ready in some decades. Quite difficult to judge at the moment because it’s just so immense; huge potential. 19+/20

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• 2007 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Much more approachable and gentle than the colossal 2006 with its quite dark, nice and sweetish nose, it's slightly medicinal and funky but with great balance and good intensity. Also quite round, pleasing and approachable on the palate, really quite contrary to the structured 2006. This is already incredibly fun, but has probably less potential than 2006. 17.5/20

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• 2009 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  This is again more in line with the 2006 and shows pure energy on the nose at the moment, obviously incredibly young, embrional really, but man this energy is really something. While young, this shows already a lot of quintessential Musar-characteristics in my opinion. The palate is very structured still and also a bit similar to the 2006 in my opinion. I think this will need a lot of time and shouldn’t be consumed before 2030 at the absolute earliest. Great potential though. 18+/20

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• 2012 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Dark, very sweet blackberry bouquet, almost cassis; tame, accessible palate, almost innocuous, very sweet, candied and dried dark fruit, some heat as well. Singular style and almost an "outlier", really sweet and pleasing. Raises question marks. 16/20

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• 2014 Chateau Musar

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Stunning strawberry-cocktail here, some volatile acidity again, wonderful herbal freshness, balsamico, really harmonious on the nose like a top notch barolo. The palate is energetic, but approachable at the moment, it’s absolutely sexy and irresistible right now. Is Musar always this sexy when it’s so blood-young or is it really just this vintage? Either way, an absolute delight at the moment with incredible potential. 18.5+/20

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• 2016 Chateau Barka Chateau Barka

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  Second pirate of the evening, immediately identified as such by all participants. Alcoholic and plump nose, far too fat, no elegance, palate full of alcohol and overripe plums. Just weak. 13/20

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Fantastic vertical. Yes, my scores may be biased, Musar is my favorite producer and I was the one who organised the tasting. In my eyes these are some of the best wines on this planet. The vertical also showed clearly how much potential these wines have. 20+ years is really the entry point for an "ordinary" Musar. Breathtaking stuff. The only letdown was the 2012, which was awkward. We'll see how it evolves.