6/19/2010 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Not very good. Perhaps past its prime.

2/21/2010 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Corked. Grrrr.

1/30/2010 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Let this age too long; it was far too hot from the pepper to drink.

12/15/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Decent structure, nice fruit forward nose and palate, showing currants and red fruits.

12/15/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Seemed a little muddy with no real focus.

10/24/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Red cherries on the nose, currants, spice and cherries on the palate.

10/11/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Honey, nectarines, spice. A good match with pumpkin pie.

8/2/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Beetroot, violets and cherries on the nose. Raspberries, cherries and spice on the palate. Not bad at all.

8/1/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Quite a bit of bricking. Notes of violets, tar, black tea, cherries and a wonderful earthiness. Mouthwatering acidity. Absolutely great with our pasta primavera with lotsa mushrooms and tomatoes.

7/19/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Just wonderful ruby grapefruit nose and palate.

7/19/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Dark red fruits, black forest cake.

7/19/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

I didn't expect it to last this long, but it was actually better now than when first released. A lot of the same floral characteristics were there, along with the grapefruit, but instead of a strong attack of citrus, it had soft spices like nutmeg and cloves.

7/12/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Surprisingly good compared to the sample I had in the winery's tasting room two years ago. Much smoother, though the tannins are still present more than I'd prefer. Typical syrah notes of blackberries, pepper, with a definite meatiness.

7/12/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

This seems to be right in its optimum drinking period. A little closed at first, but with time it developed notes of black cherries, figs, mushrooms, earth and raisins. The tannins have rounded out nicely. Very lovely.

6/21/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Outstanding. Rocks and toasted oak on the palate. A great match with lobster.

6/6/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Dark red fruit on the nose. Berries, toasty oak on the palate.

5/31/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Straightforward beaujolais - sour cherries, floral nose. Great match with Asian BBQ duck.

5/23/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

This now appears to be past its prime. The fruit has faded, leaving the tannins feeling stringent in the mouth.

5/10/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Coffee, cedar and earth on the nose. Red berries, earthiness, bright acidity on the palate. Musar is always the perfect match for rosemary and dijon encrusted rack of lamb, and this proved to be no different on this evening.

4/25/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Just starting to show some bricking at the edges. Looking at the other notes, I'd surmise the oak has now integrated with the wine. Light, floral and dark fruit nose. Cherries, blackberries and white pepper on the palate. Soft, smooth tannins. It carried it's high alcohol content well and was a good match with bacon-wrapped filet mignon.

4/24/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Juicy with rich cherry and raisin on the palate. Red fruits and floral notes on the nose.

3/29/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Graphite, dark fruit on the nose. Currants, a bit green on the palate, perhaps also somewhat tight.

3/29/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Corked.

3/22/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Pineapple, lychee, spices on the palate. Round mouthfeel. Beautiful match for pork ribs with a honey and chili pepper glaze.

3/16/2009 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Medium bodied, full ripe blackberries and pepper on the palate.

10/6/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Surprising depth of aroma and flavour for an unwooded $12 Chard. Round mouthfeel, citrus and apple on the palate.

9/22/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Pleasant enough for every day drinking. Cedar and dark fruit on the nose. Good structure on the palate, with dark red fuits.

9/13/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

A bit boozy upon opening. Given some time, dark red fruit and eucalyptus emerged on the nose. Palate displayed blackberries, pepper, earthiness and a bit of black olives towards the back of the mouth. This is an excellent bridge between an Aussie-style shiraz and Rhone syrah.

8/18/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Strong lychee and ginger notes.

7/28/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Absolutely awful. Bitter, overly-oaked and burnt-tasting.

7/21/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Day 1: Vanilla and cherries on the nose. Oak, dark cherries on the palate, with a bitterness at the back of the mouth.
Day 2: The less pleasant oak and bitter notes have subsided, leaving a more cedary nose. Softer on the palate, with dark cherries and currants.

6/8/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Petrol on the nose. Tropical fruits, peach and citrus on the palate.

6/6/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Lemon and stone fruit. Slightly off-dry.

6/1/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Petroleum on the nose. Dry, with a great acidity and lemon zest on the palate.

5/31/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Promising, but just far too young at this point. The fruit and oak are quite strong right now, with lots of black forest cake flavour.

5/25/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Simple, clean, varietally correct Chenin Blanc with a great QPR.

5/15/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Mediocre at best. Barnyardy on the nose and the fruit was a bit candy-like on the palate.

5/4/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Beautiful floral notes of roses and violets, just silky in the mouth.

4/27/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Floral notes of honeysuckle on the nose, accompanied by vanilla and tropical fruits. Apple, citrus fruit on the palate, with a round mouthfeel.

4/26/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Oaky vanilla, cherries on the nose. Sour cherries, earth, pencil shavings, olives on the palate, with tannins still providing a strong backbone.

4/26/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Almost a port-like nose in its intensity, with dark red fruits, cherries. Creamy on the palate - like milk chocolate as my wife put it - with leather, cherries, dust and tobacco. Drinking absolutely great, but is probably at its peak.

4/20/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Ruby red in colour with very little bricking around the edges. A bit of barnyard funk on the nose at first, before giving way to ripe red fruits, roses and forest floor. The palate seemed to evolve with every sip, displaying cassis, cherries, plums, cedar and pencil shavings.

4/20/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Cherries, leather and dust on the nose. Cherries, plum and fine grained tannins in the mouth. Slightly bitter on the finish.

4/19/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Smoked meat, sage on the palate, with blueberry and blackcurrants emerging with some time. Very earthy.

4/13/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Plums and a bit of barnyard on the nose. Cherries, strawberries, currants and cloves on the palate. Great QPR.

4/12/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Needed some time to develop after opening. Nose of dark fruits and prunes. Rich and full in the mouth, with red fruits, soy sauce, currants on the palate.

4/10/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

A blend of Pinot Blanc, Muscat and Muller Thurgau. Slightly off dry with aroma and flavours of tropical fruits, apples, pineapples and mandarin oranges. A decent level of acidity elevated the palate.

4/8/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Amazingly good QPR. The nose displayed violets and light red fruit, the palate was exquisitely elegant with flavours of red currants and cherries. This was way better than I was expecting.

3/30/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

My wife and I had a bottle of the '99 with Tabil-encrusted lamb.

I splash decanted the wine, had a sip as a sample, then let it sit for about 45 minutes.

There was none of the funk on the nose I usually get with Musar. Instead, we smelled bright red fuits, especially cherries, and floral notes.

I must elaborate that most Musars I've experienced had considerably more age, so take my comments in that context. The flavours of the '99 were mostly primary The palate was very fruit forward with cherries, currants and some earthiness, and it was a bit more tannic than I've experienced with Musars in the past. There was no hint of VA. In fact, I'd say the acid was balanced perfectly for my tastes.

In my experience, I often find a lot of cedar and spice notes in Musar. Those were there in the '99, but in the background right now.

My wife and I both found the wine very easy to drink and we finished it within a couple of hours - no experiments with a long decanting time, sorry. It was a lovely match with the food. The earthiness of the Musar matched the coriander, and the fruit was able to handle the mild spice of the Tabil.

3/23/2008 - Dusty Bear wrote:

Plum and barnyard on the nose, currants and spice on the palate. The tannins are still tight and need some time to come into balance.