Community Tasting Note
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ricard Likes this wine: 93 points
October 25, 2018 - What a wine. Such a wonderfully eccentric nose - figs, truffles... You'd think it might be an old Barolo from the perfume, but actually it has some uniquely odd notes of liquorice and musk and stewed prunes and nutmeg, and none of the violets and roses that you might get from a Nebbiolo. Such an interesting and unique wine. I like its idiosyncratic imbalance - when you think it's sweet, it's sharp, when you think it's tannic, it's soft, when you think it's voluptuous, it's lean. It's a contradictory wine, but it is so impressively distinctive, you can't ignore it. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, Musar is Musar is Musar. And the 2010 vintage of Musar is a good one, and I can't wait to taste it in 2030.
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8 Comments
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JohnTelford commented:
10/30/18, 1:07 PM - Thanks for the review. I have heard these need an extensive decant. What would you advise? Thank you!
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sjmuller50 commented:
10/30/18, 4:55 PM - Fabulous note!
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ricard commented:
10/31/18, 2:14 AM - @JohnTelford I would be sceptical of "extensive". I mean you could decant, but then pretty much pour anytime between right away and after 20 minutes. The wine has so much going for it, it doesn't need aerating or additional exposure to oxygen. It'll open up enough in bottle if drunk over 1-2 hours. A short decant in a decanter with a wide base would aerate it sufficiently to open up the phenolics and give a little extra enjoyment. I would be very wary of decanting a Musar older than say 20 years, because they can become rather fragile. But this one is relatively young, so you could decant and then pour. But don't leave it in the decanter for hours - in my view this is a mistake.
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ricard commented:
10/31/18, 2:15 AM - @sjmuller50 Thank you!
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sjmuller50 commented:
10/31/18, 2:33 AM - I chatted to Ralph Hochar about this the last time I caught up with him - he tells me they often decant vintages after their inflection point (ie 15ish years from vintage when they are sensorically approaching maturity) off the sediment, but only leave it in decanter for 10 minutes before returning it to the rinsed bottle - to then drink after a couple of hours. So then it’s clear, awake, but not overexposed to oxygen. Young vintages - pretty bulletproof.
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ricard commented:
10/31/18, 2:40 AM - @sjmuller50 Oh how interesting! It's the opposite of what I would do (i.e. decant older ones), but then I also agree it's important to make sure the sediment isn't mixed up with the rest of the wine. Always interesting to know what the winemaker feels is the right thing to do - it gives an insight into what they think their wine is all about. Thanks for sharing your story.
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sjmuller50 commented:
10/31/18, 3:00 AM - Hm,yes, plenty of counterintuitive aspects to Musar. Tastes too old when young and curiously young when old sometimes - in that the fruit comes to the fore again somehow (eg currently in the 1994...all sweet cherry after a slightly awkward phase). Alas, I now live in Australia, so far too hard to find here so I drink it too rarely now - but the Mornington Peninsula makes up for it at least partially! :)
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Brentw1 commented:
11/4/18, 8:30 AM - Great review. Just glad I’ve got a few to take on a journey. Just had a dinner party for my son’s 26th with several of his friends. We had a 2006 Musar as well as a few other wines from around the world. It’s great to give them the experience and the knowledge and the Musar was their favourite! Let’s bring on the next gen.