Made with Obaideh (2/3) and Merwah (1/3) sourced from ungrafted, low-yielding vineyards over 50 years of age, located at the altitude of 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in oak barrels for 6 to 9 months. 13% alcohol. Tasted in a Musar Blanc 2012-1994 vertical.
Medium-deep bronze color. Somewhat sweet and slightly dusty nose with rather understated aromas of dusty earth and wool, which as followed by nuances of chopped nuts, some sweeter notes of overripe red apple, light waxy tones and a hint of bruised quince that slowly emerge with air. At first people wondered whether the wine was corked due to its dull, lifeless nose, but seeing how the nose just slowly opened up with air without developing any, we came to the conclusion that the wine wasn't corked, just old. The wine is juicy, rich and full-bodied but also somewhat dull and lifeless on the palate with flavors of wizened citrus fruits, some stony mineral notes, a little bit of slightly unpleasant metallic character, light evolved nutty tones and a hint of bruised quince. When compared to the younger vintages we tasted, this vintage is lacking in flavor complexity.The wine is moderately high in acidity. The finish is rather understated and a bit short with flavors of dusty earth, some ripe citrus tones, a little bit of stony minerality, light nuances of bruised apple and a salty hint of brackish sea water.
A vintage that seemed relatively youthful for its age, but which doesn't really manage to impress. At first people assumed the wine was corked, due to its very closed, un-aromatic nature and dusty nuances, but as Musar wines always need some aeration, it turned out to be just a wine that hadn't opened enough yet. Upon the first sniff and taste the wine was borderline faulty, as it really didn't have any positive aromas or flavors, but it slowly picked up speed and turned out, well, not good, but fairly OK. However, after some while the wine ceased to evolve any further and just stuck at the phase my TN has described. It never became particularly expressive or balanced, but remained a bit restrained and slightly dull in overall character. It's hard to assess whether this 1994 is just getting old, lifeless and flat, or if we had just a dud bottle. So you might need to take my TN with a grain of salt.
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Poor Excuses (Taberna Palo Cortado - Madrid): Bottle bought two years ago in Lebanon. 2019 was a long way to this particular bottle. Don't expect exuberant aromas neither a deep texture. What we have here is a timid white wine, shy and closed on the nose, just a slight white flowers memory, and a bit unbalanced with a watery texture and a vivid acidity. Better if served little warmed.
Botella comprada en la propia bodega hace ya dos años. 2019 fue un largo camino para esta botella en particular. No esperes aromas exuberantes ni una textura profunda. Lo que tenemos aquí es un tímido vino blanco, apocado y cerrado, solo con un ligero recuerdo de flores blancas, un poco desequilibrado con una textura acuosa y una acidez vívida. Mejor si se sirve un poco caliente.
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10 vintages of Chateau Musar (@Private location): *** Please see the general tasting story notes for more details *** Glass: Riedel BDX Sommelier White Musar, made of autochthonous variants of Chardonnay and Semillon. Clear, medium+, golden amber Sauternes like color. Clean, medium intense, fully developed nose. Nice, but a bit unbalanced and not as complex as the 99 vintage. Dry, medium acidity, a bit decomposing. Medium alcohol (13%). Medium body and flavor intensity. A bit leaner than the 99 vintage. Very nice, but not as complex. Drink up, it will not improve but will stay on this level for a few more years.
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Med+ golden color. Nose is first full of mushroom, with some stone fruit and honey. Palate offers flavors of orange marmalade, and is similar in character to some Savenierres I've tried in the past but less wooly and with less texture. Medium acid, medium body, this does not last long after opening. via Pungo.
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Powerful, lots of phonolics, long length, rather low acidity. Mouthfilling , mouthcoating. Apple, apricot nectar, stone fruit eau de vie, wax. Impressive.
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5 Decades of Ch. Musar Blanc.... with Serge & Marc Hochar (Dining Room, Aberdeen Marina Club, Hong Kong): Tasted blind amongst 12 vintages. Copper-gold colour. Super, deep if somewhat low-key nose of marzipan, lanolin and mahogany furniture wax…classic middle-aged Ch. Musar Banc nose. Palate had a lot of freshness balanced by several different impressions of mahogany furniture and its associated wax polish. Still quite heavy alcohol. Very pleasant and captivating resonance. My 4th/5th out of 12, it tied with the 2003, which seemed like its adolescent and very promising stable mate.
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Five Decades of Chateau Musar....with Serge Hochar (Shanghai Room, Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong): Darker yellow gold compared to the preceding 1992. Nose is richer....peach stone, macadamia nuts, bitter almonds, hints of marzipan.....I could lose myself in this nose. Palate is more oxidative than the 1992 but still only mildly so and with a wonderful honeyed roundness and gorgeous rounded, rolling thunder resonance and reverberance on the finish. Gosh....honeyed and so integrated but clearly with such a long slow evolution of improvement ahead of it. It gets more and more like a Ch. Rieussec........young but stunning. This paired extremely well with the Cantonese Shreded Jellyfish dish and with the Deep Fried Crab Claws in Preserved Vinegar Ginger and Shredded Cucumber Salad. However, on the night I preferred the elegance and grace of the 1992.
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Oxidized yellow color. Mature, almost sherry-like nose of stewed apple and spice. In the mouth, very reminiscent of pineapple and coconut. Past its peak but interesting for its texture and character. C+
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Seattle Tasting Group does 'Go-to Wines' (Seattle, WA, USA): Made from Obaideh and Merwah. Deep color. This shows doughy, leesy notes on the nose with nuttiness and some heat. On the palate this shows very little interest with a flat, bitter feel. This clearly seems over the hill and somewhat oxidized. NR
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2/25/2022 - forceberry wrote: 78 Points
Made with Obaideh (2/3) and Merwah (1/3) sourced from ungrafted, low-yielding vineyards over 50 years of age, located at the altitude of 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in oak barrels for 6 to 9 months. 13% alcohol. Tasted in a Musar Blanc 2012-1994 vertical.
Medium-deep bronze color. Somewhat sweet and slightly dusty nose with rather understated aromas of dusty earth and wool, which as followed by nuances of chopped nuts, some sweeter notes of overripe red apple, light waxy tones and a hint of bruised quince that slowly emerge with air. At first people wondered whether the wine was corked due to its dull, lifeless nose, but seeing how the nose just slowly opened up with air without developing any, we came to the conclusion that the wine wasn't corked, just old. The wine is juicy, rich and full-bodied but also somewhat dull and lifeless on the palate with flavors of wizened citrus fruits, some stony mineral notes, a little bit of slightly unpleasant metallic character, light evolved nutty tones and a hint of bruised quince. When compared to the younger vintages we tasted, this vintage is lacking in flavor complexity.The wine is moderately high in acidity. The finish is rather understated and a bit short with flavors of dusty earth, some ripe citrus tones, a little bit of stony minerality, light nuances of bruised apple and a salty hint of brackish sea water.
A vintage that seemed relatively youthful for its age, but which doesn't really manage to impress. At first people assumed the wine was corked, due to its very closed, un-aromatic nature and dusty nuances, but as Musar wines always need some aeration, it turned out to be just a wine that hadn't opened enough yet. Upon the first sniff and taste the wine was borderline faulty, as it really didn't have any positive aromas or flavors, but it slowly picked up speed and turned out, well, not good, but fairly OK. However, after some while the wine ceased to evolve any further and just stuck at the phase my TN has described. It never became particularly expressive or balanced, but remained a bit restrained and slightly dull in overall character. It's hard to assess whether this 1994 is just getting old, lifeless and flat, or if we had just a dud bottle. So you might need to take my TN with a grain of salt.
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5/9/2019 - Harley1199 wrote:
Poor Excuses (Taberna Palo Cortado - Madrid): Bottle bought two years ago in Lebanon. 2019 was a long way to this particular bottle. Don't expect exuberant aromas neither a deep texture.
What we have here is a timid white wine, shy and closed on the nose, just a slight white flowers memory, and a bit unbalanced with a watery texture and a vivid acidity.
Better if served little warmed.
Botella comprada en la propia bodega hace ya dos años. 2019 fue un largo camino para esta botella en particular. No esperes aromas exuberantes ni una textura profunda.
Lo que tenemos aquí es un tímido vino blanco, apocado y cerrado, solo con un ligero recuerdo de flores blancas, un poco desequilibrado con una textura acuosa y una acidez vívida.
Mejor si se sirve un poco caliente.
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2/24/2017 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 91 Points
10 vintages of Chateau Musar (@Private location): *** Please see the general tasting story notes for more details ***
Glass: Riedel BDX Sommelier
White Musar, made of autochthonous variants of Chardonnay and Semillon.
Clear, medium+, golden amber Sauternes like color. Clean, medium intense, fully developed nose. Nice, but a bit unbalanced and not as complex as the 99 vintage.
Dry, medium acidity, a bit decomposing. Medium alcohol (13%). Medium body and flavor intensity. A bit leaner than the 99 vintage. Very nice, but not as complex. Drink up, it will not improve but will stay on this level for a few more years.
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10/21/2015 - SoundinBetween Likes this wine:
Med+ golden color. Nose is first full of mushroom, with some stone fruit and honey. Palate offers flavors of orange marmalade, and is similar in character to some Savenierres I've tried in the past but less wooly and with less texture. Medium acid, medium body, this does not last long after opening. via Pungo.
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8/3/2014 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 94 Points
Powerful, lots of phonolics, long length, rather low acidity.
Mouthfilling , mouthcoating. Apple, apricot nectar, stone fruit eau de vie, wax. Impressive.
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2/17/2014 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 92 Points
Classic white Musar. Lots of polish. Like a white CdP. Intense.
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2/20/2013 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 91 Points
5 Decades of Ch. Musar Blanc.... with Serge & Marc Hochar (Dining Room, Aberdeen Marina Club, Hong Kong): Tasted blind amongst 12 vintages. Copper-gold colour. Super, deep if somewhat low-key nose of marzipan, lanolin and mahogany furniture wax…classic middle-aged Ch. Musar Banc nose. Palate had a lot of freshness balanced by several different impressions of mahogany furniture and its associated wax polish. Still quite heavy alcohol. Very pleasant and captivating resonance. My 4th/5th out of 12, it tied with the 2003, which seemed like its adolescent and very promising stable mate.
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2/20/2013 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 92 Points
HKWS tasting - 5 decades of Musar Blanc with Serge Hochar (Hong Kong): Gold. Candied, sweet, smooth, mahogany, peach, apricot, elegant, pu-er.
93 points - came 5th, one first, one second, two last.
Personal 4th.
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6/1/2012 - Goldstone wrote: 93 Points
Five Decades of Chateau Musar....with Serge Hochar (Shanghai Room, Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong): Darker yellow gold compared to the preceding 1992. Nose is richer....peach stone, macadamia nuts, bitter almonds, hints of marzipan.....I could lose myself in this nose. Palate is more oxidative than the 1992 but still only mildly so and with a wonderful honeyed roundness and gorgeous rounded, rolling thunder resonance and reverberance on the finish. Gosh....honeyed and so integrated but clearly with such a long slow evolution of improvement ahead of it. It gets more and more like a Ch. Rieussec........young but stunning. This paired extremely well with the Cantonese Shreded Jellyfish dish and with the Deep Fried Crab Claws in Preserved Vinegar Ginger and Shredded Cucumber Salad. However, on the night I preferred the elegance and grace of the 1992.
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9/14/2011 - gutt22 wrote:
Oxidized yellow color. Mature, almost sherry-like nose of stewed apple and spice. In the mouth, very reminiscent of pineapple and coconut. Past its peak but interesting for its texture and character. C+
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9/23/2009 - Philippe_C wrote: 90 Points
Nose of walnuts, honey, butter pancakes... in the month a hint of greeness, fat, mineral, almost tannic, zeste d'orange, white peper and almonds
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4/12/2009 - Ian S wrote:
Really complex, yet with balance and not as whacky / oxidised as some folk have suggested.
Definitely one to get more of
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2/27/2004 - Eric wrote:
Seattle Tasting Group does 'Go-to Wines' (Seattle, WA, USA): Made from Obaideh and Merwah. Deep color. This shows doughy, leesy notes on the nose with nuttiness and some heat. On the palate this shows very little interest with a flat, bitter feel. This clearly seems over the hill and somewhat oxidized. NR
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