2008 Chateau Musar
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Friday, October 25, 2019 - The first few months of 2008 in Beqaa weren't particularly plentiful with rain and snow, but after the late February no rains reached the valley for the rest of the season. The temperatures were moderate in March, which was followed by a sunny spring, keeping the humidity (and the amount of unwanted weeds) very low. In mid-August a heat wave arrived, making the grapes reach maturity at the same moment, creating some logistical problems on the harvesting of grape varieties – normally the grapes mature at different times, so there is no need to worry whether some varieties would turn overripe while picking the others. Especially Cinsaut seemed to only benefit from the heat wave. The wines were blended together after 3 years of aging, of which 1 year in oak barrels. 14% alcohol, 2 g/l residual sugar and 6,1 g/l acidity.
Luminous, translucent ruby red color with no deposit at all in the bottle. Very sunny, clean and sweet-toned nose with vibrant aromas of strawberry juice, brambly raspberries, some darker marmaladey tones, a little bit of leather, light fragrant notes of cooked rose hips, a lifted hint of nail polish VA and a touch of wizened dark fruits. The wine is ripe, quite full-bodied and harmonious on the palate with silky smooth yet remarkably firm and structured overall feel. Vibrant flavors of juicy raspberries, sour cherries, some wild strawberries, a little bit of stony minerality, sunny hints of wizened black cherries and dried figs and a slightly bitter touch of roasted spices. The wine is impressively structured with its high acidity and quite grippy, tightly-knit tannins. The finish is long, spicy and quite tannic with dry flavors of ripe blackberries, some juicy blueberries, a little bit of earthy spices, light tart red-fruited notes, a hint of gravelly minerality and a touch of dried black cherries.
A relatively clean, but also very impressively structured, sinewy and complex vintage of Musar with a somewhat noticeable yet not overwhelming undercurrent of volatile lift, typical of the house style. Very tasty at the moment, but also showing lots of promise for future development. Most likely this is going to be one of the longest-lived Musar vintages of the 00's, based on the intensity of its fruit and muscular structure. I can imagine this won't be hitting its plateau of maturity at least in the next 10-15 years. Simply raging value at 23€. Very highly recommended.
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