Yes, you’d really have to call the store and ask them to look at the back label or speak with someone who knows (which would probably only be the person who purchased the wine).
Musar is a cult. You are proselytized by other cult members / missionaries who are looking for those who belong among the anointed. You will try the wine and you will either hate it and never touch the stuff again or you will be captivated by this utterly bizarre amalgam of new world fruit, old world complexity and flavor, and “features” that would be outright flaws in any other wine such as VA.
If you are one of the ones fortunate enough to be enlightened you will also become “one of them” and tirelessly extol the glories of this impossible wine (both from a flavor/style and a historical perspective; the backstory on this producer is crazy).
I’m only exaggerating ever so slightly about any of this.
I am also ever so thankful for my Finnish friends who showed me the light.
Signed, an unrepentant member of the cult
Perfect explanation. I think I got the picture. At least its not another Baroli Chinato experience. Ill seek out a cult member.
I was exposed multiple times through blind tastings. It’s a hard wine to figure out what it is if you don’t know ahead of time. It can taste like old CNDP, or orange peel flecked Rioja, and more. Hiding the label seems to open our minds to new tastes.
To me, the main dimension they offer is that they are so different from what I normally drink. Somehow they combine intensity of flavor with lightness. Most of what I consume is heavy and chewy, and this is the opposite.
On the flip side, most of what I consume is sound, without the occasional prickle of VA.
Hear what you`re saying and am at least curious enough to go for it.
Recommended to me by a UK retailer. His recommendation combined with cheap pricing enticed me to give 'em a try.
They offer a singular experience, imo — the red, rose, and white — all of 'em.
Blake, I was introduced to Musar in a blind tasting where a friend had four flights of wine. Each flight included a 1997 Napa, 1996 Bordeaux, 1997 Tuscan, and a blind “wildcard”. In a tasting full of “special wines” including Penfold’s Grange, and a 1975 Chateau Margaux…it was the 1995 Musar (Rouge) that stood out as a special wine…that’s how I was introduced to it. Back in the summer of 2007, it was $32-$36 off the shelf…and it could stand toe-to-toe against wines at a much higher price-point.
I first had it many many years ago at a tasting at Wine Exchange. Fell in love with the uniqueness of it.
Thanks for the info Brain. I had no idea it came in 3 different types either.
The true test, a blind tasting, tells a lot. That gets my attention and then especially against Grange and Margaux. Thanks Kirk.
So to be clear…this was also at the beginning of my wine “education” when I started working at the wine shop. The Grange was 1996 if I recall…so young by “grange standards”. I also remember very few of the Napa Cabs at the tasting…I’m pretty sure I remember calling the '97 Monte Bello as the '96 Bordeaux in the flight & the Clerc-Milon as the Napa Cab. The 1975 Margaux was at the end of the tasting…and while pure silk…it was also clear that this bottle was not likely to improve. So that left the Musar as the attention getter for me…it was “affordable” by my standards in college compared to almost every other wine there. Musar was also loved by one of my wine mentors, Hago…Hago is a unique soul. He was friends with Michael Broadbent & knows Bartholomew. He had an intuition when tasting blind that I was jealous of…and a generosity of spirit that taught me what it meant to be a wine “geek” instead of a snob. Hago introduced me to Biondi Santi, Foradori, and many other wines that are unique & special in one way or another. For me…Musar is a wine that would be best introduced in a blind setting…or in a vertical tasting…but if you’re looking to try a bottle randomly. I’d suggest picking up a 2001 (imported by Broadbent) or maybe a 2004. Others I know like & eve about 2002 & 2005…but they’re just a little more powerful and less elegant to me. If you’re willing to take a plunge…I’d suggest a 1998
Thanks for the clarification Kirk. I understand the context of how you got introduced to the wine. Since I prefer elegance and less power, Ill seek out a 98.
Blake, try it on a night when you can watch the wine over the whole evening, not as one pour at a tasting dinner. The evolution and transformation of musar is quite amazing.
I am sorry to be so late in replying on this thread. I think there are two points which need my comment, one is why the Chateau Musar we import might show better than the others, the other is why Chateau Musar might be cheaper in the UK.
With regard to the quality. My company, Broadbent Selections Inc. is appointed by Chateau Musar as their exclusive importer for the United States. The wine we buy comes directly from their cellars and all bottles are inspected before being loaded into our containers. Older vintages are re-corked, if needed. Any bottle with significant ullage is eliminated from our shipment. The bottles are in perfect condition and we treat the shipments perfectly too. We also store the wines in professional wine warehouses and most of our distributors operate refrigerated delivery trucks.
Wine bought on the grey market in the USA [any bottles not imported by Broadbent Selections] may have come from anywhere. The provenance is impossible to verify because the only wines that Chateau Musar can guarantee are the ones which we import.
On the pricing issue, Chateau Musar has its own company in the UK. They are trying to raise the level of UK retail pricing to the same as is found in the USA. This takes time because people need to adjust to their gradual price increases. Just to explain the route to market a bit further, it is like this: In the UK, the wine travels from Chateau Musar in the Lebanon to their own office in the UK, which in turn delivers it to the retail shops. In the USA, the wine travels from Chateau Musar to its importer, Broadbent Selections, which must take an operating margin. We then sell to the distributors in each State and they then sell to the retail stores. By law, in the USA, it is a three tier system.
This does not mean that you can go to the UK to buy the wine cheaper on the grey market. Any retailer in the UK caught knowingly selling to an importer in the USA will be cut off by Chateau Musar. If the retailer in the UK accidentally sells wine which is then re-sold to the USA will be given a warning not to sell it again to the person who exported it. Therefore, because reliable retailers will not sell to importers in the USA or people who export to the USA, the wines purchased in the UK will not have a guaranteed provenance. The retailers providing wine for the grey market will have to source it from somewhere other than Chateau Musar.
As for the comment about whether there is any price gauging, good question. Here is the answer: We have a standard margin which we use for every wine we import. Sometimes we might cut it to make sure a wine is able to be poured by the glass at a restaurant. However, in general, we have the reputation of having extremely good quality to value for all wines we sell, whether a $600 bottle of Barca Velha or The Curator at $8.
The price of the old vintages of Chateau Musar is a direct reflection on the pricing which the winery charges us. We use the same mark up, or sometimes a lower markup on more expensive wines. The fact is that Chateau Musar holds about 2/3 of their production for release when mature and their philosophy is that the price should go up every year and should match pricing of good Bordeaux wines of the same age. If we import a 1961 Chateau Musar, it will be extremely expensive because that is a reflection of the winery price to us.
Sure, you can find old vintages of Chateau Musar which might have been purchased on release at a very inexpensive price but there is no guarantee on the storage since then. The wine cannot be returned and replaced. It is just like any other wine: provenance is the all important question for a mature vintage.
Duly noted. I had thought about getting a bottle and slipping it in to a blind tasting, but this makes more sense. Thanks Chris.
Or get two - try one in a blind tasting, another with the full experience. But of the two, I’d strongly suggest the latter. Musar is just kind of that way.
I’m optimistic you’re going to like it a great deal, or at least I think you will if you get a good bottle, as there is some variability to it. I wish we lived close enough that I could have you over and pour you a lineup of them. Let me know if you’re ever down here in Orange County and have time to so a mini-Musarathon.
Appreciate the explanation Bartholomew. Now for locating the wine.
Great offer Chris. Its rare I get to OC, but Ill contact you well in advance should that occur. It seems like we should get together at some point anyway. Maybe an Off Line deal with others from the board at a mutual site in LA?
In my hunt for the Musar, I find there is a cuvee,rouge, a Jeune and a vintage Gaston Hochar in the reds. Some are offered in 375s as well as 750s. Interestingly, almost all US sources are located in the East Coast.
My questions for all of you in the know is which of the reds are we talking about here or at least which one is most recommended and do I go for the 375 ml in a younger vintage or stay with the 750 ml?
I appreciate your help.
Blake, stick ONLY with the Gaston Hochar. See my note on the '95 Rosé (it’s a unicorn)posted yesterday after being open for 26+ hours. If you’re getting a Musar (Rouge) I’d suggest that you let the wine settle for sediment for 2-3 weeks, decant for sediment, and follow over 2-3 days. This would work well with ANY vintage from 1999- current release IMHO. If it’s in a blind setting, and you know it’s in a blind setting…I’m guessing it’s a wine you’ll immediately identify because it’s so unique. For me it’s sort of like throwing a Cayuse into a blind Syrah tasting…it’s so unique that it will stand out. If you want to try to learn/understand the wine I’d try it the way I suggested. I’ve drank about 2-3 cases of the 1994 red and there have been some that lasted for 4-5 days and were still fresh tasting and wildly different each day when I tasted it.