Community Tasting Note

forceberry wrote:

Friday, February 25, 2022 - Made with Obaideh (2/3) and Merwah (1/3) sourced from ungrafted, low-yielding vineyards over 50 years of age, located at the altitude of 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in oak barrels for 6 to 9 months. 13% alcohol. Tasted in a Musar Blanc 2012-1994 vertical.

Medium-deep bronze color. Somewhat sweet and slightly dusty nose with rather understated aromas of dusty earth and wool, which as followed by nuances of chopped nuts, some sweeter notes of overripe red apple, light waxy tones and a hint of bruised quince that slowly emerge with air. At first people wondered whether the wine was corked due to its dull, lifeless nose, but seeing how the nose just slowly opened up with air without developing any, we came to the conclusion that the wine wasn't corked, just old. The wine is juicy, rich and full-bodied but also somewhat dull and lifeless on the palate with flavors of wizened citrus fruits, some stony mineral notes, a little bit of slightly unpleasant metallic character, light evolved nutty tones and a hint of bruised quince. When compared to the younger vintages we tasted, this vintage is lacking in flavor complexity.The wine is moderately high in acidity. The finish is rather understated and a bit short with flavors of dusty earth, some ripe citrus tones, a little bit of stony minerality, light nuances of bruised apple and a salty hint of brackish sea water.

A vintage that seemed relatively youthful for its age, but which doesn't really manage to impress. At first people assumed the wine was corked, due to its very closed, un-aromatic nature and dusty nuances, but as Musar wines always need some aeration, it turned out to be just a wine that hadn't opened enough yet. Upon the first sniff and taste the wine was borderline faulty, as it really didn't have any positive aromas or flavors, but it slowly picked up speed and turned out, well, not good, but fairly OK. However, after some while the wine ceased to evolve any further and just stuck at the phase my TN has described. It never became particularly expressive or balanced, but remained a bit restrained and slightly dull in overall character. It's hard to assess whether this 1994 is just getting old, lifeless and flat, or if we had just a dud bottle. So you might need to take my TN with a grain of salt.

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