99 Musar at Nopa with BFU, WC, SC

https://www.evernote.com/l/ABYG2mIlN4lFar3xMoX9_yN8IDVeBKW4jb8
A night of excess, good conversation, and thought. We were reminded that, despite the casual atmosphere, the chef (L. Jossel) is not messing around. Everything was delicious, accessible, and also complex and playful. Desserts were killer as well - each one had a collage of flavors along with acid, bitterness, and saltiness. At times superb single ingredients stole the show (the dates, the peas, a mushroom) while at other times, we enjoyed the magical combination of elements.

My main objective was to check in with the '99, and I had the added pleasure of introducing it to my friends.

• 2013 Azienda Agricola Bruna Riviera Ligure di Ponente Maje 85 Points

  Italy, Liguria, Riviera Ligure di Ponente

  Bright, very light concentration medium-red in the glass. Nose of bright red raspberry, cherry liqueur and a bubblegum/banana tone that strongly reminds me of carbonic maceration. In the mouth it has a slight frizzante, overall a fresh, crisp, Gamay-like balance. No impression of tannins. The aromatics were a bit candied for me, but a very nice wine in a Gamay style.
  
  Score: Around 8.5

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• 2011 Domaine Puig Parahÿ Côtes du Roussillon Georges 87 Points

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon

  Moderate plus concentration of color. Nose was a bit closed with black fruit, blackberry, dark blue/black in aroma. Over time a cherry tone reminiscent of the Cheze St.-Joseph emerged. Low tannins. No perceptible black pepper, though there was a slight reductive tinge to the nose. In terms of balance, it felt cool. Like being in the shade with your cheek pressed up against metal and wood. Elegant.
  
  Score: Between 8.5 and 9.

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• 2009 Antichi Vigneti di Cantalupo Colline Novaresi Agamium 85 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Northern Piedmont, Colline Novaresi

  This is the wine I missed blind in spectacular fashion last week. Again, strawberry jam dominates slight oxidation and earth on the nose. In the mouth, the texture is delightful - I really enjoy the particular texture of strong nebbiolo tannins, and the way it can seem light, floral, acidic, tannic, and elevated in alcohol, all at the same time. This definitely didn’t have the elevated alcohol, acid, and tannins of a Barolo, but it was certainly in that direction. I’m a fan of this textural style. The preserved strawberry nose was a bit one-dimensional, but then again… it wasn’t very polite to this wine to drink it side-by-side with the ’99 Musar.
  
  Score: Around 8.5.

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• 1999 Chateau Musar 90 Points

  Lebanon, Bekaa Valley

  I felt happy to be re-acquainted with this wine, and to share it with some of my good friends. My impression this time, aside from the characteristic Musar tamari, animal notes from Brettanomyces and bruised apple/fig from oxidization, was one of a very large grapey blackberry, looming over secondary details of chamomile, earth, tobacco. I’ve thought this before with young Musar - I wish the fruit would get out of the way just a little so the secondaries could shine through.
  
  It seemed awkward, young, the flavors a bit separate and disjointed (compared to how Musar can be at its best). Will it change more? I’m not a fan of the current fruit character. Will it change or go away? Is my palate changing with this wine? Maybe I’m becoming more attuned with secondary aging flavors, and this wine is just behind the curve.
  
  Referring to my notes, I tasted this in 2010 (at 11 years), and thought it was beautiful, emphasizing fruit. I enjoyed the fruit character, calling it “real, true fruit.” I noted how it didn’t quite have the emotional impact of the ’95, which had had a profound impact on me not that long before.
  
  I tasted it again in London at the end of 2012 (at 13 years) and noted a grapey fruit core that I didn’t particularly enjoy, though the secondaries and Musar character still made for a great wine.
  
  Most recently, I tasted it 2 months ago (at 16 years) at the tail end of a formidable lineup: the ’91, ’94, ’96, and ’98. I noted it was somewhat closed (it hadn’t been decanted), and the fruit was “plummy.”
  
  Extrapolating, I’d say that for me, the fruit character of the ’99 isn’t up to par with the ’95. Maybe it will get out of the way and turn into a fantastic secondary and tertiary wine. Maybe I’ll never like it as much as the ’95, my one fantastic bottle of the ’94, or that great bottle of the ’96 in Orono. Or maybe it will surprise me in young-adulthood.
  
  Sensory Notes:
  
  Visual:
  Mostly clear, just bright. Dark garnet, moderate to moderate-minus concentration. Some sediment.
  
  Nose:
  Brett and Acetaldehyde were high initially, as was a dark grapey blackberry note. Over time the nose became much more refined, more complex, but still chubby and not fully-integrated. Primary aromas of blackberry, dark plummy fruit. Secondaries of tamari, dried cherry, dried tomato, and chamomile tea. Complex, and still developing.
  
  Palate:
  Moderate in body. A slight impression of elevated alcohol that works very well in context of the flavors and acidity. The balance is such that it stands on its own, yet also works with food. Midpalate flavors of tamari, blackberry, dried cherry, tobacco, some dusty, woody oak peeking through on the palate (not excessive, presenting as a bit of clove and nutmeg and freshly-sanded wood). [Aged for 1 year in Nevers oak - age of barrels unspecified]. It finished with just moderate to moderate plus in length, with very little impression of tannins and a bit of tart malic sourness, which I associate with acetaldehyde.
  
  Overall:
  That I wasn’t completely taken with how this bottle was showing did not distract from the facts of the evening. We had several other wines to contrast, but only this seemed to rise up and have a conversation. It paired phenomenally with the roasted squab, dusted lightly with Indian spices.
  
  Score: Around 9.

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The winning pairing was hands-down, the Musar with roasted squab.