1995 Chateau Musar- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (10/12/2014)
Opened on Saturday night (spotted a leaky capsule, though not bulging or protruding), and poured a very small glass - the wine was fine, though it was obviously still rather tight. With some swirling, and ten minutes, a trickle of fruit began to emerge and transcend the distinctive soil features that were so prominent at first. With another ten minutes in the glass, it was clear - put the cork back in and drink it tomorrow. And that strategy worked brilliantly as this was completely on point last night. Medium-bodied, with cool/light textures, but impressive density and weight once this fleshed out on the mid-palate. Long finish, very fine tannins. This is just beginning its preferred plateau, and if this bottle is representative, it’s got another 10-20 years of really elegant drinking yet ahead. Continued to gain weight and even some complexity right through the last glass. Lovely wine. 13,5% abv., highly recommended
Did you get any VA on this? I tasted one last year and it had just a touch of VA, but it really sorta brought the whole wine together. I loved it, but did open it about 8 hrs prior to tasting.
Dusty, the first moment I removed the cork (had to use an Ah-So, cork was really soaked, 7/8ths) this was nothing but v/a. I mean it was as concentrated as I can recall smelling. However, it blew off quickly in the glass on the first night, and was but a wee signature line on night 2. Just lovely stuff that I can’t wait to enjoy again in the future.
So this is the 18th recorded time that I’ve had this wine…there’s probably at least another 8-10 times that I didn’t bother typing notes. This has been one of the few wines that I feel like I’ve really gotten to know over the last decade. It’s in a lovely place now, but I’ll be waiting another 3-5 years before I crack the next bottle…but this was such a lovely wine. I’m beyond pleased with it…I wish more wines performed as consistently and reliably as this has for me over the years.
1995 Chateau Musar- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (9/23/2018)
Hello old friend…it has been far too long. This had a lovely ruby core with bricking leading to a clear meniscus. Robust scents of mushroom, concrete, orange rind, with hints of clove & spice. The palate leads with sour cherry, wild strawberry, and raspberry followed with a mid-palate burst of lavender and clove before the mouth starts to water and the finish starts to draw out. This went brilliantly with a morel mushroom risotto, oven roasted carrots, and pan seared steaks with chanterelles and onions. This is just plain lovely…and I couldn’t be happier to have a few more bottles socked away. Extraordinary.
Wonderful notes, Tim and Kirk. The two bottles I cracked in 2017 were brilliant just not quite fully there as the previous bottles I’d had (possibly bottle variation). In any case I’m also waiting 2-3 years before cracking the next one - hopefully to glimpse it at another stage of evolution. Still my favorite wine ever.
I have had the great privilege of enjoying quite a few Musar over the years, and, outside of an other-worldly 1986 that we drank maybe five years ago, the 1995 is my very favorite. (Sadly my stash is now empty.) To summarize, IMHO it is very Musar, but MORE of it, though with less funk. A powerful Musar. And I very much agree on the expected lifespan.
The morel mushroom risotto pairing had my mouth watering. We usually pair with lamb or something else Lebanese if possible, but I find Musar to be quite food versatile.
FWIW, I had the 1990 on Friday (with a rib eye), and will eventually post a brief note.
Kelly, it would be awesome to see your notes on the '90. I think I’ve only had it 2-3 times. I agree that the '86 is really special as you and others have noted. It’s always a hard bottle for me to hang onto…I seem to drink it within the first year whenever I can manage to find one. The same with the 80 & 81.
@Kirk and others, curious what you think about these last two not-quite-extraordinary '95 experiences. My takeaway is that it’s probably some combination of me not being in the right frame of mind, not nailing the decant procedure, bottle variation, food pairing/setting, and maybe a particular stage of evolution.
I mean, they were amazing - but my impressions in the past have generally been 100-pts and a really detailed and complex experience (and a correspondingly long tasting note). Given I have a finite quantity I feel like I should ration them out a bit more.
1995 Chateau Musar- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (11/9/2017)
Ex-Chateau via F+R. I don’t recall the fill - I think it was fairly high.
Cork soaked through, 2mm dry.
Out of the bottle a slightly reductive burnt toast note with some yeasty notes - like peptone extract or maybe LB broth? There’s a slight dried dark fruit to it and of course oxidation, Brett, balsamic, VA.
Based on the yeastiness and slightly burnt quality I’m going to double decant and let it sit for a bit at room temp, then refrigerate corked.
At dinner it initially was lighter in fruit - resembling the '98. Over a few hours the darker core started to emerge, and it was stunning as usual, but didn’t reach the heights of previous bottles. I have a feeling I should have let it sit open for the whole day. It was best later that night. (96 pts.)
1995 Chateau Musar- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (9/29/2017) Small birthday get-together (Home): Base neck fill. Cork soaked through 1.5cm.
I applied the standard '95 Musar protocol: Double-decanted then refrigerated, re-corked, for 7 hrs.
Out of the bottle it smelled of strong acetic acid and acetaldehyde with a hint of dark raspberry fruit. One of the better initial noses I’ve encountered for the '95, hence I re-corked the bottle (Audouzian logic).
This is my favorite vintage of my favorite wine, so take this note by comparison to other bottles. The wine was still stunning, just not what it’s been in the past.
At dinner, it was only moderately aromatic. A bit muted compared to other bottles. Showing beautifully-centered red raspberry and blackberry fruit with a flourish of savory and earthy secondaries. A beautiful tertiary Musar in a centered style. Not as expressive as I’ve come to expect the 95 to be. Beautiful and familiar… just not all there. (94 pts.)
@Rajiv - I’d assume that the bottles you bought were not imported by Broadbent…that’s the first thing that comes to mind. Other than that, yes there is bottle variation with Musar; but it sounds like you’re explaining the experiences that Doug & I have had with bottles that were not sourced through Broadbent. Were the bottles you drank sourced elsewhere?
Gents – I posted on 90 Musar this a.m. under “Celebrating Friday dinner with old friends”. Would love any feedback. Spoiler alert: It was great but not WOTN!
Rajiv – I really liked your “burnt toast” and “balsamic” notes. As I think back, these are very common traits in Musar, though I have heretofore been unable to articulate that.
This is just a personal note, but to me the difference between mid 90s and 100 is quite subjective, and highly dependent on mood, food pairing, etc. When coupled with normal Musar bottle variation, and Musar’s quite idiosyncratic nature, it seems not so surprising that your perception would vary.
I am pretty sure I acquired this one – and various other Musar – from Brown Derby, several years ago.
Kelly, I’d be really interested if you could check the other bottle you got from Brown Derby to see if it was imported by Broadbent…my hunch is, no. However, I really hope the last bottle shines for you when you decide to open it.
@Rajiv, I’ll be burning toast this weekend just to get that for the “experience” bank for future wines. We’re opening the '89 Musar side-by-side with the '89 Carignan by Serge Hochar to see how they show similarly and differently. I’ll post here when we’re done this weekend.