1991 Chateau Musar
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Saturday, April 1, 2023 - 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.
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