2003 Chateau Musar- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (8/3/2015)
I served this to a knowledgeable friend who didn’t know the house who said ‘There’s Cabernet here but it’s something different I’ve not seen before’. I couldn’t have put it better myself. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan. An intriguing nose of blackberries, blackcurrants, cedar, autumn leaves, spices, cloves, dried herbs and dry earth, meaty and savoury. In the mouth, dense and more red fruited, quite grunty and earthy. Quite ripe, lower acidity. Perhaps not the most refined wine, but not rustic either. Warm, savoury and fairly complex. Serious structure. Good for a winter’s evening with a beef stew. An interesting wine. I’d say, drink in the next 5-8 years.
I’m curious how this fits into context with other Musars, which generally people seem to enjoy at a minimum of 15 years, up to 50+ years. Given your relatively young drinking window of 17-20 years, did this seem particularly advanced for Musar? For comparison, the '99 seemed too primary (at 16 years) just a few months ago (Tasting Note).
Rajiv, I’m no expert on Musars or their drinking windows. I do know that these wines have a reputation for longevity. I was pretty much going based on what I saw in the glass. This was the impression of both me and my friend. The wine was pleasant drinking, not at all closed or heavily tannic.
I have looked at the CT reviews from 2015 of the 2003 and the 13 reviews are almost all some variation of ‘Ready to drink now … and can maintain for another 2-3 years’, ‘at its best now’, ‘Will last a while yet’ etc. So perhaps 2003 is a more forward vintage than some (like 1999?) … ?
On the other hand, I know I and a lot of other tasters regularly dramatically underestimate drinking windows, so I would not be surprised to read a TN from you, Ranjiv, in the distant future, well beyond 2023, enjoying a bottle of this wine …
Here’s my tasting note from January of this year. It’s drinkable now…but if I had some I’d be giving them time in the cellar. Even if it was a warm year…what I tasted when we did the 19 vintage vertical led me to believe that this has 10-20 years left based on the “mussier-like” track-record of the winery. However, I will say that it’s a vintage I don’t plan to buy for my cellar as it was showing the hallmarks of the warmth I’ve seen in many wines globally from 2003. I do think it will show better with more time in the cellar though.
2003 Chateau Musar- Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (1/25/2015) 19 Vintages of Musar Rouge; 1/25/2015-1/26/2015 (Clark Point House in Southwest Harbor, Maine): Color: Deep ruby core
Smell: Earth, tobacco, cement, and red fruit.
Taste: Blackberry, leather, blueberries, and clove.
Overall: Given the youth of this wine, it’s just not giving that much at this point in it’s life accept power and a hint at the warmth of the vintage. Full body, Med+ acidity, high tannin and slightly extracted fruit; check back again in 3-6 years given the warmth of the vintage. In honor of Bart Broadbent who made tasting the '84 Rouge possible I’ll use the five * system. (/)
Sorry, a bit late on this. But red and white (and even some years of rosé) Musars generally are best with lots of age (20+ years) though the fun thing is that they can sometimes be deceptively open when young. I like any aromatically open Musar whether young, adolescent or old. Good to hear that you had what reads like an open bottle. Sometimes at this age they can take several days open to open up.
Sitting with a bottle of the 77 which I have had forever. Will drink it at the end of this month at a friend’s annual pig roast and hope for the best. Will report back.
The red '77 is fantastic when it isn’t corked. Unfortunately, I’ve had colossally bad luck with TCA in '77 and I have seen so many other mentions of problems that I’d have a backup bottle just in case.
Had the 77 at my friends annual pig roast. Expected little, but in a word, fantastic. Cloudy cherry in color with no browning. Fine nose of cherry and flowers. Refined soft palate of cherry and leather. All 7 imbibers were amazed. One left in my cellar where it has been resting for 30 plus years. My primary bottle was the 03 Termanthia which I thought very good, but others liked better than me.