June 17, 2022 - Musarathon (Ariana II): One of the best wine experiences of my life was from a magnum of 81 Musar from the same source. This did not quite achieve those heights, reminding us all of the fickle nature of fate, and the even more fickle nature of Musar. Still a jolly decent drop, it has to be said - fully musar, a bit dusty around the edges but having that vibrancy and spirit which keeps it going for so long.
November 8, 2020 - Mid garnet. PnP. Notes of VA but very much in balance. Attractive dried red fruit, hint of exotic spice, old leather and a soft ember feel to the finish. Delicate but not lacking in weight. This showed particularly noteworthy elegance ****++
November 21, 2019 - Tasted next to the 1982 and 1983. Quite evolved in colour, a bit cloudy. Evolved on the nose, spices, cedar wood, herbs, old leather, earth. On the palate sweet fruit, lots of acidity, soft with resolved tannins, smooth and long. Excellent. 91-93
July 13, 2019 - On opening, the usual VA cloud hits your sniffer, but a short time in the decanter let that recede and the usual cornucopia of Musar aromas came wafting to the fore: dark coffee, cherry pie, walnut, beef blood, ash, leather, spice cabinet. Brought a smile to my face with every whiff. On the palate, perfectly resolved tannins and that unmistakable sweet cherry Musar fruit with tingly spices, acid, and VA varnish. Like old Beaucastel, the wines' flaws are always plain to see but somehow meld seamlessly into the wines' character, becoming virtues. What joy they give me!
February 28, 2019 - Mostly Napa Cabernet Dinner (Eddie V's - Tysons Corner, VA): Served blind to others as RJ showed me the wine before wrapping. Beautiful clearly red with yellow brown rim. Fully mature nose displaying very ripe red fruit, cherry, cherry liqueur, sous bois, smoke meat, ash, animal and earth. Fully integrated palate, subtle sweet red fruit, lean and fluid, bright acidity, fully resolved tannins and a medium to long subtle cherry fruit driven finish with ash and animal at the end. This reminds me the 81 Torres Gran Coronas Reserva Reserva a bit but even subtler fruit. Most guess as old school Cab. Mark gets the vintage right but wrong continent. I imagine this would have been extremely ripe and almost unpleasant in the first ten to twenty years. This is a classic Musar.
February 28, 2019 - Cassis, currants, massive amounts of cinnamon, top soil, cherry, clean fresh fruit, great balance. Served blind, guessed new world Cab from 1981. Always surprising how this wine holds up to the test of time. I'd drink up.
January 1, 2019 - The wine has been stored in ideal conditions since it was purchased, soon after release. The level was well up to the lower neck of the bottle. Heavy deposit. On the basis of past old Musar corks, I used a two-pronged 'waiter's friend' and the cork came out smoothly despite being friable. Decanted and kept for 3+ hours before tasting over another 3 hours.
Lighter colour but with good density - brick red with brown at the edge but more youthful than expected.
The nose opened gradually but was fragrant with old-fashioned-rose perfume developing. It continued to open with extended time in the glass. Perhaps a hint of balsamic later.
The palate is deceptively light but remarkably complex, given its age. Good body with sweet fruit - cherry and orange/kumquat notes at first. Lots of spice. With time, the cherry seemed to sweeten further and morphed into cherry conserve with other fruits including (over-) ripe strawberry, raspberry, and quince later. A complex, evolving palate. Long in the mouth with good acidity and soft, integrated tannin. A second glass showed a hint of sulphur at first but this vanished over a minute or so.
This was my one remaining bottle so I chose my time to open it. I don't think this wine will improve in the future but it is certainly 'on song' at present.
I was happy to postpone food and just enjoy the wine. Thoughts of precious time spent with Serge were ever-present as I immersed myself in the experience. Remarkable, unique wine that deserves a detailed note in my opinion.
July 5, 2018 - Extrem mineralisch, schön aber über dem Zenith
April 25, 2018 - Slightly past it’s prime. Pale ruby color but no bricking. Lots of alcohol on the pallet with some blackberry. Short finish.
February 16, 2018 - Bought two bottles at Dubai airport two years ago. Opened one straight away back then, which was nice. Opened the other one last nigth at a friend's place for dinner. No issues with the cork. The wine was ok, but later and cheaper years are all better. Simply not worth the money.