Château Musar 1994
13.5%
Fill mid shoulder IIRC. No sign of leakage. Cork completely saturated but firm, came out fine. Left upright 3 days. Decanted 10am, back in bottle 6pm, drunk 6:30.
C: Light dirty brownish red.
N: Curious.
P: Overripe plums and cider vinegar. Light but penetrating, somewhat reminiscent of a PN. Very interesting. Great balance, very very long. Supoib!
One of the best descriptors of a wine’s nose I’ve seen. I’m going to use that when appropriate (with full attribution), if I haven’t already…
Musars usually start to drink well again at c.20yo so I’m not surprised to hear of such a great experience. I haven’t sadly had the '94 in years.
I have a 95’ that I plan to open in the next few months, will be my first experience with Musar and i’ve heard from several sources that you would be amazing how much it changes over the course of hours.
Mid-shoulder is really low for a '94.
Well, it could have been higher (hence the IIRC). Forgot to take a good look. But bottom line, the wine was really great–not so important why.
Maybe not to you but important to me. My '94s are well into the neck. Heck, so are my '89s. I had bought a few '91s from Flickinger that were heat damaged and ullage was below what I expected. So yes, important to me. Glad you enjoyed the wine. I wish I had bought more '94s. Paid $19 for them. What an incredible bargain looking back.
Yes I can see why you care. Its a great wine, but the failure rate is very high–maybe 50%. The guy I bought them from only charges 1/2 the market price for that reason! Sorry I don’t remember exactly. If it comes to me I’ll let you know.
Yes, there seem to be serious problems with '94. It’s a shame, because the best bottle I’ve had from this vintage I think rivalled the '95, which is my benchmark at this point (my one experience with '81 was more exciting than any '95 I’ve had, but that was the only older bottle that I’ve had, and I don’t know what that vintage tasted like when it was younger). I read somewhere that Serge said '94 was one of the best vintages he has ever worked with. When these bottles are on, they are ON. At a good price, I think it’s worth the risk to buy a few and hope some of them deliver. I know they were pretty darned cheap on release compared to recent vintages.
Is musar cab cinsault and carignan?
Yes it is…and it’s well worth picking these up when you can find them. Over the last 2-3 years I’ve probably drank 2-3 cases of the '94. I’m down to just one bottle…I may need to buy more.
Yes it is…and Serge says that given the even blend (33% of each) that is a large part of what allows the body changes in vintages but not the style…in basic terms. He said it much better, “Hopefully I didn’t answer your question.”
Chamber street has/had some older ones.
Thank u Kirk
A really good wine that I’ve been lucky to have had on a number of occasions. and sadly I have none left in the cellar. I know there was an issue with corks not holding up so well and he recorked what he had at the winery not too long ago. There should be another release, ex-cellars, coming in the near future (so I was told some time ago, so not sure if that is still the case).
Regardless, I love Musar wines. BUT they are not for everyone. They can vary a lot vintage to vintage and if you don’t like certain typical Musar characteristics (some VA, oxidation) best to avoid and let the rest of us enjoy them 
Yes, on second thought they’re good but maybe not so great…, 
Technically flawed some might say…
As for the re-release of '94 or any older vintages…you can expect the prices to be sky high. I just attended a trade tasting where a case of some of the vintages from the 90’s were well into the $200/bottle range. These wines seem to have a really steep curve somewhere around their 15th birthday where they go from affordable but pricy…to “holly frack that’s expensive!” almost over-night. Buy what you can find at affordable prices…when you can find them. I need to back-fill some 98’s while they’re still affordable.
Kirk, I just got some ’98’s for my son’s birthyear, any experience with them? I’m a Musar noob…
YES!!! I love this vintage. It’s been over-shadowed by the '99 vintage…which many others have loved. I think the 1998’s are more Burgundian in style. I think they have all of the stuffing to make it to your kids 21st birthday…and maybe even longer. They’re drinking great now with a 2 hour decant…but if they’re for your kid then I’d say just age them unless you have 6 or more.
Favorite foods to pair with this vintage are wild mushroom risotto, Epoisse (cheese), duck, pheasent stew, oven-roasted carrots, and of course Pat’s Cheese Pizza (you’ll have to come to Maine for that). You’re a lucky man in my thoughts…I think the 98’s was the next best vintage after the 95’s.
Kirk, I have cousins in Portland and Muscongus (sp?) bay so Pat’s is not out of the question…thanks for the info. Others have said that the ’98 Musar was underwhelming so I’m really psyched to hear your enthusiastic endorsement!