Community Tasting Note
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jepstein4031 wrote: 86 points
May 4, 2022 - This wine opened after 2-3 hours of decanting. Stewed fruit. Drank with lamb. I’d like to say something here, which may upset some people. The idea that we would hold on to this and other older vintages of Musar is silly. These wines are long past their prime. Are VA and some bret desireable tertiary characteristics? Why would anyone hold on to these wines? Sure, they can still be “drinkable,” but is that what we’re in this for - to see how long they can go before becoming completely undrinkable? I love Musar, but give me a post 2007 vintage. High end Bordeaux this is not.
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6 Comments
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Mculfsson commented:
5/7/22, 3:46 AM - You are right in this is not a good moment to drink the wine. It is far too young. And indeed, there is no point in comparing this with Bordeaux; this is something completely different
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johnrm commented:
6/2/22, 8:42 AM - Mculfsson is spot on. This is too young, yet. It also needs more than 2 hours to open. I also agree that comparison with Bordeaux is totally misplaced. They are very different wines.
I am not embarrassed to have just posted a note on the 2003 which perhaps explains a little (and shows just how wrong I was to judge this vintage soon after opening). It is now 6h after opening and the wine is still beginning to show its true quality and character.
Older vintages? We are still drinking Musar from the late 1980s and 1990s with great pleasure and increasing appreciation of how the wine develops over decades.
I would recommend that you read pages 85-88 (Chapter 5) in ‘Chateau Musar’ published by Academie du Vin in 2020. The description by Serge Hochar of drinking his Musar Blanc 1959 over the course of a week is significant. He describes it being ‘undrinkable’ when first opened but the next day it was ‘amazing’ and it then improved over many days. This not BS. I knew Serge and he was the most genuine and honest winemaker I have ever encountered.
I hope this makes sense. I have never opened a bottle of Musar that was too old but I have drunk too much too soon (and too soon after opening) over the years. -
jepstein4031 commented:
6/2/22, 8:49 AM - I appreciate everyone’s comments. My comparisons to bordeaux are solely about ageability. I still have ‘98s, ‘00s’ and ‘03s. Although I am not optimistic, when I open future bottles, I will let them sit for a few days to see how they develop and improve.
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johnrm commented:
6/3/22, 5:46 AM - Thanks for your reply. I have just added to my review of yesterday on the basis of tasting a small sample after 24h. It is definitely showing its class now. It is worth doing what Serge described - taste early and then check its development over hours and days. Not possible in a social setting but the wine comes first! Regards, John.
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jepstein4031 commented:
6/3/22, 8:54 AM - Can I ask how your keeping it over the stretch? Fully decanted? Open container?
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johnrm commented:
6/3/22, 9:02 AM - I didn’t decant this time because, after standing upright for a while before opening, I knew this bottle would allow careful pouring without too much hassle. I closed it with a simple Screwpull bottle stopper between pours. I would never leave a bottle open between pours.
I perhaps should have double decanted but I am too mean to follow Serge Hochar’s method. He would decant and then rinse out the bottle with some of the same wine before re-filling. I could not bring myself to waste any Musar this way! John.