2003 Chateau Musar Blanc
Community Tasting Note
forceberry wrote:
Friday, February 25, 2022 - Made with Merwah (65%) and Obaideh (35%) grapes 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 winter of 2003 was the rainiest in 15 years in Beqaa, but after April, no rain fell. A long heat wave in May decreased yields by 30%, concentrating the acidity and sugar levels in the remaining grapes substantially. However, July and August were cooler than normal, delaying the ripening process. Still, the harvest was carried out by normal schedule. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for 9 months in partly new French 225-liter barriques, bottled in September 2004. 12% alcohol. Tasted in a Musar Blanc 2012-1994 vertical.
Moderately deep and wonderfully luminous burnished golden yellow color with a pale bronze core. The nose feels a bit restrained but also wonderfully nuanced with subtly sweetish aromas of zesty citrus fruits, some evolved nutty tones, a little bit of chalk dust, light woolly notes of lanolin, a bright hint of fresh nectarine and a touch of cloudberry jam. The wine feels moderately evolved but also remarkably fresh and lively on the palate with a moderately full body and complex flavors of mealy red apple and ripe, zesty citrus fruits, some developed waxy and creamy tones, a little bit of stony minerality, light oxidative notes of chopped nuts, a hint of savory wood spice and a crunchy touch of quince. What always surprises me with this vintage is its high acidity that is almost at odds with the rich, ripe and developed flavors, lending the wine wonderful sense of freshness, vibrancy and precision. The finish is dry and lively with fresh and quite acid-driven flavors of ripe citrus fruits, stony minerality, some evolved nuances of sweet, wizened stone fruits, a little bit of savory wood spice, a hint of apple peel bitterness and a woolly touch of lanolin.
A delicious, wonderfully bright and beautifully evolved vintage of white Musar. Although the wine felt somewhat evolved, starting to show the first signs of oxidative nuances, the overall feel wasn't as developed as with the previous bottle I had (in February 2020). It feels this wine is slowly getting close to its plateau of maturity, but there is still some ground to cover, so there is definitely no need to hurry with this vintage; I sense there is still room for further improvement and this wine will keep just fine for many, many years more - bottle variation permitting, of course. Although not as profound as the bottle I tasted in May 2016, this is nevertheless a fantastic vintage of Musar Blanc. At just 29,70€, this has been a steal.
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (2,042 views)
2 comments have been posted
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (2,042 views)
Comment posted by Paul852:
3/28/2022 10:05:00 PM - Thanks for the note. I'm in the process of drinking a bottle of this wine over several days from a decanter. Mine seems more developed than yours - quite oxidised notes on day 1, but on days 2 and 3 these somehow seem to fade to give a nicely balanced, mature wine. As so often the case with both red and white Musars, air seems to help.
Comment posted by Goldstone:
3/29/2022 8:11:00 AM - Having drank a lot more then 100+ Musars over the years, I can only add two comments (1) give them an 8-hour decant, however unintuitive this may seem (2) Serge Hochar told me a long time ago "Musar tastes old when it is young, and young when it is old".