Chateau Musar Vertical
Jefferson Hotel DC
Tasted Thursday, October 20, 2011 by wrrntl with 913 views
Introduction
To start, this was an excellent opportunity for people to be introduced to Chateau Musar. I have long been a follower of these wines and have sought them out frequently. Broadbent Selections is very much lucky to have had a long and fruitful relationship with this producer and to that end, have had tremendous access to back vintages. I enjoyed meeting Serge Hochar and hearing his personal thoughts on his wines that ranged from the casual to the metaphysical. Once exclaiming, "God is above and the soil is below with the grape vine as an intermediary." So along those lines, I really enjoyed tasting sunrays from long before my time courtesy of Chateau Musar. Here are the tasting notes for the wines in order of tasted. Serge clearly "loves" his whites. The tasting went red to white and it was telling why, I tasted the '75 Blanc all day!
Flight 1 - Chateau Musar Rouge (4 Notes)
The reds were served first for obvious reasons!
Flight 2 - Chateau Musar Blanc (4 Notes)
Clearly Serge is a large fan of his whites.
2003 Chateau Musar 85 Points
Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
Serge did not talk too much about the precise wine making but eluded to a "formula" he formed in 1977 that was roughly equal parts Cab. Sauv., Cinsault, and Carginan. This one was from a hot vintage and clearly showed this in youth. A larger tannin component than the rest of the wines tasted and was slightly off balance from the heat on the nose. This Musar's current release and while aging seems to favor these wines not my favorite current vintage.
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1990 Chateau Musar 90 Points
Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
This wine was probably my overall favorite red primarily based on price (1/5 the 1974). The nose exhibited the standard barnyard (I say brett with assurance.) that is clearly a product of the cement is my guess but this lingered perfectly with the notes of wild herb, smoked meat and the tantalizing sensation of acidity on the nose and front palate. In the mouth this wine was relying heavily on its acidic core to bring forth drying fruit and a lingering earthly taste that is distinctly different from the funk of the nose, it adds more mineral notes. An excellent dinner wine. Drink now!
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1983 Chateau Musar 88 Points
Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
This wine drank "younger" than the 1990. However, the nose had an aroma of leather and still ripe fruit. The nose on this wine is beginning to exhibit a nuanced and multifaceted perfume. The tannic strength is still firm however the acidic makes this wine spry. I considered this the "biggest" wine of the entire line-up.
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1974 Chateau Musar 90 Points
Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
As mentioned above, Serge did not have a set plan plan before 1977 for his blend. The 1974 is an anomaly of the group, it that it consists of a higher percentage of Cinsault. The comparison was made through out the room to a well-aged Burgundy but I might argue that it is comparable to an aged Rioja with more cedar and leather. Completely erupting nose with many different notes that have mentioned above that made it distinctly Musar. The mouth feel was tantalizing and very much alive. The finish was very nice and lingering with excellent dried fruit notes.
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