APPEARANCE: Medium garnet colour with brick red elements. Quite fragile cork, broke off (or rather partly dissolved and crumbled). Some dried remains of previous seepage on top of the cork. 14.0% ABV. NOSE: Wet wood, cherry pits, leather, autumn forest floor, well hung beef. Later sweet medicinal notes of gauze bandage, ointment and camphor. Dried figs. Rich and fragrant. Wonderfully aromatic. (92-93p) TASTE: The arrival is sweet with ripe and matured fruit. On the mid palate leather, dark plum fruit (Anton Berg’s Plum in Madeira), cellared strawberry jam. Velvety and rich mouthfeel. (91p) FINISH: Still sweet but now rounding off with some nicely drying but well integrated tannins. A touch of black pepper. Long aftertaste. (90p) OVERALL: Very mature, sweet, hedonistic. Enjoyed over three hours and did only become better and better. A wonderful, if not great Ch. Musar. TOTAL SCORE 91 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
35-years celebration. Leather, cigar box and oak on the nose. Dry. Suprisingly fresh fruit. Cherry and oak on the palate. Medium acid. Well integrated tannins. Long exit. A superb Musar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From Beirut to Bodø - Chateau Musar tasting (Bodø): Surprised that this one was in good condition as fill level was below the neck. Cork was muggy from capsule to halfway down, but the wine was fine. High intensity and complexity with mushrooms, barnyard, dried fruit, forest floor and dusty closet. I got an old Bordeaux feeling about this one. 1986 was in fact a difficult vintage in Bekaa Valley and that is felt on the palate as it is a bit unbalanced with bitter and harsh tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Almost opaque black-red color - very atypical for a Musar, and even more so for an older vintage. A bit reticent, unassuming and mature - even old - nose with aromas of oxidative, raisiny fruit, nuts, sous-bois, cement and some musk; not that attractive, to be fair. Developed, spicy and a bit coarse palate with grainy, angular tannins and moderate acidity. Somewhat oxidative flavors of Middle Eastern spices, sour cherry, sweet dried dates, some figs, a little raisin and a touch of olives. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, but a bit past its peak. Very developed and a bit short and one-dimensional finish with flavors of raisin, roasted spices, some coarse and grippy tannins and a hint of bready malt.
Apparently a difficult vintage, that has given the wine a rather coarse and angular feel with some awkward aggressiveness. Additionally, the wine seems past its peak - not that much, but so that it has taken some strides to the territory of that anonymous old wine phase, resulting in an unwelcome loss of typicity and complexity. Not really impressed; I won't rate as flawed, as there was still some life left in the wine. Drink up, that is my suggestion.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Sourced from Chambers St Wines in NYC, this wine was absolutely rocking. While I have been blessed to have been able to taste many young and old Musars over the years, in all their savoriness, frequent variability and occasional funk, the word that jumps out for this wine is "intensity". This quality was apparent right out of the gate, and lasted until the bottle was gone -- which, as good as this bottle was, and with the help of two friends, was not nearly as long as I would have liked. Of course, all the classic Musar characteristics were present as well -- most prominently, sour cherry, Asian spice, barnyard. On this occasion I wasn't able to drink it with Lebanese food, which would have only improved the wine. I really like Musar, and this is the best I've ever tasted.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Celebrating Doug's Birthday...; 11/8/2015-11/9/2015: Color: Ruby core with a slight bricking rim and clear meniscus Smell: "Classic Musar" scents roll out of the glass with hints of cement, Asian spices, menthol, manure, Taste: Bing cherries, wild strawberries & rhubarb..again, this is just silk on the palate. Overall: Medium body, medium acidity, medium body, vibrant fruit, and a long LONG finish. Outstanding almost Classic Musar!!!!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
From auction. No sign of seepage. Cork broke. Decanted 2h. V:Crimson, slight bricking at meniscus. N:Clove, savoury herbs, red berries, strikingly clean for Musar. P:Fabulously smooth, mature wine. The savouriness and spices saturate over the long finish. Orange peel at the end. Very moreish. Outstanding wine. Drink or hold until 2021+. 14% abv
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A dense crimson core with some amber aging on the rims. Clean, fully integrated fruit. Powerful earthy aromas as well as some dried apricot and cherry. On the palate this medium bodied wine reveals an abundance of rich flavors with notes of orange, mocha and nutmeg. Surprisingly lush tannins and a long fruity finish. This was a very nice surprise indeed. Fully mature wine but will drink well for another 10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
last tasted 3/19/08: no ullage, cork long/soft. brick red, thick legs . smooth/long aftertaste. smells of cedar/pencils. delicious. 19/20 delicious. time to try again. tannin3 acid 3 glycerin 3 fruit 3--balanced. a very nice aged "bordeaux".
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Needed a few minutes after opening to blow of the funk.
Thereafter, the nose and palate lacked a bit of savoury side, though remained highly interesting: red fruits, garrigue and long, sweet aftertaste. No hurry to drink this... it might actually improve! May not be one of the all time great Musars, though...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Monthly Tasting Group HWS #055; Chateau Musar Vertical of 9 vintages red, 3 white plus a few extra's. (By DJ): Fairly light carmine. In the bouquet a little barnyard and figs. On the palate plums, dark cherries, some strawberries and apple syrup. Fairly light bodied and completely dissolved tannin. Elegant and completely mature wine (I think). But the opinions about this wine were quite diverse; from too old to mature, or even with some more future. Anyway, for the pleasure at the moment I scored it 88.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Smell: Earth, cement, dried red fruits, gingerbread cookies, and a kaleidoscope of scents that simply could not be identified as this was a wine in a constant state of transition.
Taste: Cherries, strawberries, cranberries, shitaki mushrooms, and so much more that just could not be identified. Much like the nose this wine had a finish that seemed to last forever and was constantly changing.
Overall: I can't think of many red wines that I have had that I have enjoyed as much as I did this. I am a huge fan of this producer and hope to eventually taste a majority of these wines given the time and ability to locate them. They are so singularly unique and interesting that nothing could honestly be compared to them. Perhaps the best bottle from this producer I have had to date.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clear rusty/ruby colour, some brown tones, but healthy looking. On the nose, only lightly lifted, beef broth, some roasted/nutty notes and a touch of brown sugar. On the palate, round, spicy, exciting, very sanguine, sweet, deep, delicious. Soft tannins, but still quite alive, very nice balance, medium-bodied and good length. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Brick red, pale; hickory, smokey na1l varnish [sl. volatility],farm yardy Burgundian; soft, mushroomy (showing age), still attractive, acidity gives a certain bite. May go on but... . typical & good Musar.16
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
7/19/2023 - SAND Likes this wine: 91 Points
APPEARANCE: Medium garnet colour with brick red elements. Quite fragile cork, broke off (or rather partly dissolved and crumbled). Some dried remains of previous seepage on top of the cork. 14.0% ABV.
NOSE: Wet wood, cherry pits, leather, autumn forest floor, well hung beef. Later sweet medicinal notes of gauze bandage, ointment and camphor. Dried figs. Rich and fragrant. Wonderfully aromatic. (92-93p)
TASTE: The arrival is sweet with ripe and matured fruit. On the mid palate leather, dark plum fruit (Anton Berg’s Plum in Madeira), cellared strawberry jam. Velvety and rich mouthfeel. (91p)
FINISH: Still sweet but now rounding off with some nicely drying but well integrated tannins. A touch of black pepper. Long aftertaste. (90p)
OVERALL: Very mature, sweet, hedonistic. Enjoyed over three hours and did only become better and better. A wonderful, if not great Ch. Musar.
TOTAL SCORE 91 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2023 - mike410 wrote: flawed
Vinegar
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/6/2021 - Margroot wrote: 94 Points
Phenomenal wine. Multi layered and nothing except a bit of the color told that is was 35 years old.
Spices, sweetness and even some fresh acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/11/2021 - GlennO86 Likes this wine: 96 Points
35-years celebration. Leather, cigar box and oak on the nose. Dry. Suprisingly fresh fruit. Cherry and oak on the palate. Medium acid. Well integrated tannins. Long exit. A superb Musar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/20/2019 - LWI wrote: 95 Points
Gloriously complex, no volatility. Best Musar tasted
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/5/2017 - sharonandroland Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of the more feminine style of Musar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2017 - RayOB wrote: 90 Points
Drank in Hong Kong
Classic Musar nose but with a lovely light palate. Nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/5/2016 - Bobhelge wrote: 90 Points
From Beirut to Bodø - Chateau Musar tasting (Bodø): Surprised that this one was in good condition as fill level was below the neck. Cork was muggy from capsule to halfway down, but the wine was fine. High intensity and complexity with mushrooms, barnyard, dried fruit, forest floor and dusty closet. I got an old Bordeaux feeling about this one. 1986 was in fact a difficult vintage in Bekaa Valley and that is felt on the palate as it is a bit unbalanced with bitter and harsh tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/26/2016 - naina8 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drinking perfectly right now, the essence of Musar. Low tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/14/2016 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 92 Points
The crowd was stunned. Though fully mature, I found this 30 yr old Musar surprisingly young and spry. Leather, lemon rind, plum. Thank you Mr. Hochar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2016 - Lype wrote: flawed
So sad.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/24/2016 - forceberry wrote: 85 Points
From a magnum bottle.
Almost opaque black-red color - very atypical for a Musar, and even more so for an older vintage. A bit reticent, unassuming and mature - even old - nose with aromas of oxidative, raisiny fruit, nuts, sous-bois, cement and some musk; not that attractive, to be fair. Developed, spicy and a bit coarse palate with grainy, angular tannins and moderate acidity. Somewhat oxidative flavors of Middle Eastern spices, sour cherry, sweet dried dates, some figs, a little raisin and a touch of olives. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, but a bit past its peak. Very developed and a bit short and one-dimensional finish with flavors of raisin, roasted spices, some coarse and grippy tannins and a hint of bready malt.
Apparently a difficult vintage, that has given the wine a rather coarse and angular feel with some awkward aggressiveness. Additionally, the wine seems past its peak - not that much, but so that it has taken some strides to the territory of that anonymous old wine phase, resulting in an unwelcome loss of typicity and complexity. Not really impressed; I won't rate as flawed, as there was still some life left in the wine. Drink up, that is my suggestion.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2016 - straight outta iowa Likes this wine: 95 Points
Sourced from Chambers St Wines in NYC, this wine was absolutely rocking. While I have been blessed to have been able to taste many young and old Musars over the years, in all their savoriness, frequent variability and occasional funk, the word that jumps out for this wine is "intensity". This quality was apparent right out of the gate, and lasted until the bottle was gone -- which, as good as this bottle was, and with the help of two friends, was not nearly as long as I would have liked. Of course, all the classic Musar characteristics were present as well -- most prominently, sour cherry, Asian spice, barnyard. On this occasion I wasn't able to drink it with Lebanese food, which would have only improved the wine. I really like Musar, and this is the best I've ever tasted.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2015 - Kirk Grant wrote:
Celebrating Doug's Birthday...; 11/8/2015-11/9/2015: Color: Ruby core with a slight bricking rim and clear meniscus
Smell: "Classic Musar" scents roll out of the glass with hints of cement, Asian spices, menthol, manure,
Taste: Bing cherries, wild strawberries & rhubarb..again, this is just silk on the palate.
Overall: Medium body, medium acidity, medium body, vibrant fruit, and a long LONG finish. Outstanding almost Classic Musar!!!!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2015 - kenv wrote: 91 Points
WCC Blind Tasting of Chateau Musar and Chateau Montrose (Salty's Pub & Bistro, Clifton Park, NY): [Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] A touch bitter, but complex and interesting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2014 - Tony Molester Likes this wine:
From auction. No sign of seepage. Cork broke. Decanted 2h.
V:Crimson, slight bricking at meniscus.
N:Clove, savoury herbs, red berries, strikingly clean for Musar.
P:Fabulously smooth, mature wine. The savouriness and spices saturate over the long finish. Orange peel at the end. Very moreish.
Outstanding wine.
Drink or hold until 2021+.
14% abv
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/14/2014 - Wineguy76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
A dense crimson core with some amber aging on the rims. Clean, fully integrated fruit. Powerful earthy aromas as well as some dried apricot and cherry. On the palate this medium bodied wine reveals an abundance of rich flavors with notes of orange, mocha and nutmeg. Surprisingly lush tannins and a long fruity finish. This was a very nice surprise indeed. Fully mature wine but will drink well for another 10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/25/2012 - jbengfort wrote:
last tasted 3/19/08: no ullage, cork long/soft. brick red, thick legs . smooth/long aftertaste. smells of cedar/pencils. delicious. 19/20 delicious. time to try again. tannin3 acid 3 glycerin 3 fruit 3--balanced. a very nice aged "bordeaux".
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/2/2011 - don_quichotte wrote: 92 Points
Needed a few minutes after opening to blow of the funk.
Thereafter, the nose and palate lacked a bit of savoury side, though remained highly interesting: red fruits, garrigue and long, sweet aftertaste. No hurry to drink this... it might actually improve! May not be one of the all time great Musars, though...
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/9/2011 - Zweder wrote: 88 Points
Monthly Tasting Group HWS #055; Chateau Musar Vertical of 9 vintages red, 3 white plus a few extra's. (By DJ): Fairly light carmine. In the bouquet a little barnyard and figs. On the palate plums, dark cherries, some strawberries and apple syrup. Fairly light bodied and completely dissolved tannin. Elegant and completely mature wine (I think). But the opinions about this wine were quite diverse; from too old to mature, or even with some more future. Anyway, for the pleasure at the moment I scored it 88.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2010 - Kirk Grant wrote: 98 Points
Is Kirk leaving? (With Photos) (Sips Restaurant in Southwest Harbor, ME): Color: Light ruby red with a peachy clear meniscus.
Smell: Earth, cement, dried red fruits, gingerbread cookies, and a kaleidoscope of scents that simply could not be identified as this was a wine in a constant state of transition.
Taste: Cherries, strawberries, cranberries, shitaki mushrooms, and so much more that just could not be identified. Much like the nose this wine had a finish that seemed to last forever and was constantly changing.
Overall: I can't think of many red wines that I have had that I have enjoyed as much as I did this. I am a huge fan of this producer and hope to eventually taste a majority of these wines given the time and ability to locate them. They are so singularly unique and interesting that nothing could honestly be compared to them. Perhaps the best bottle from this producer I have had to date.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/27/2009 - orie0704 wrote:
Clear rusty/ruby colour, some brown tones, but healthy looking. On the nose, only lightly lifted, beef broth, some roasted/nutty notes and a touch of brown sugar. On the palate, round, spicy, exciting, very sanguine, sweet, deep, delicious. Soft tannins, but still quite alive, very nice balance, medium-bodied and good length. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2008 - tendring wrote: 85 Points
Dark mahogany.
Oxidised pungent nose.
Porty, dry, prunes, figs, delicious, good length.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/21/2004 - chbeaumont wrote:
Brick red, pale; hickory, smokey na1l varnish [sl. volatility],farm yardy Burgundian; soft, mushroomy (showing age), still attractive, acidity gives a certain bite. May go on but... . typical & good Musar.16
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment