Tn: 1999 Chateau Musar

first time w a Musar. From a local Lebanese restaurant that has a deep vertical. Fresh and deep with bright cherry and red fruit, very high toned. Really lovely wine. Very nuanced. The acidity and round tannins will keep it going for a decade more.

I love this wine and have found 1999 to be a particularly good vintage. Can be a little on the funky/earthy side but in a way I really enjoy. Seems to benefit from decanting or gentle handling so the sediments don’t get disturbed. And has a beautiful color that seems to indicate not yet at full maturity

My favorite vintage of Musar, by a lot.*

*I only know the 1997-2006 vintages.

Favorite vintage of my favorite producer. When you get a good bottle (there’s a lot of variation), it’s absolute magic. Definitely decant!

First rule of Musar, don’t talk about it lol. Love ‘99 and it does benefit from a solid few hours of decanting.

One of my favorite vintages* of Musar as well.

• I know all the 1993-2014 vintages and most since 1979

Although I must point out that 1997-1999 is a magical trio of outstanding vintages. 1999 is most reliably excellent, but when 1997 and 1998 have their thing going on, the can reach at the very least the same level of quality.

I have a couple of magnums of the 97, I wonder when those should be opened? It’s been a while, but I recall the 97 Musar was really wild even by their standards.

The last bottle I had in late 2019 was remarkably clean and youthful, showing surprisingly little age, no obvious funk nor VA. And it was a 0,75 bottle, not a mag. So based on this data point, not in a long time!

However, I’ve seen a lot of bottle variation with this vintage. Some have been somewhat evolved and even slightly aldehydic, some have shown some VA but not obvious brett, and one coming across as quite mature with pruney and raisiny fruit and softer acidity than any other bottle of the same vintage. But all in all, this vintage has shown surprisingly little brett compared to most vintages and some bottles haven’t shown much if any VA either. So in that sense, I wouldn’t call it particularly wild, even by non-Musar standards.

A good bottle might be a bit reductive upon opening, so it definitely benefits from an hour or two of aeration.

Nice. Great producer.

Cheers,
Doug

That’s a really good vintage of Musar, and it’s probably just into early maturity now.

1995 was the superstar from around that period, though I haven’t had one in quite a few years now. And 1991 too. But I feel like vintages in the 2000s I’ve been sampling have all been good too.

Mine as well

99 for me has been consistently excellent.

97 not so much, unfortunately. Lotta variation.

93 and 95 were my fav of the decade. Wish I had more!

Try as I may, I just don’t “get” the whites.

We’ve had incredible luck with the late 90’s Musars as well as the early 2000s too. Just all beautiful expressions that I almost feel like I’m jinxing myself by talking about it for next time…

Anyone had many aged versions of the whites?

All vintages between 1990-2010 except for 1993, 1994, 1996, 2002 and 2008.

1992 has been consistently one of the best whites I’ve tasted, but 1990, 1991 and 1997 have been nothing short of excellent either.

Just a general observation: I don’t find Musar especially funky.

Maybe I’ve been lucky. Maybe I’m especially funk tolerant.
But it’s not a thing for me with Musar.

For me, the challenge with Musar is the VA. I’ve had a few (just a few) Musars with undrinkably high VA. But even when not an deal breaker, I usually get some obvious VA here. A little VA can add interest for the right palate, but it’s definitely a variable to factor in.

fwiw, my experience is similar to Patrick’s. The funk I’ve seen has always been within tolerance, and most blows off with aeration. But what doesn’t get blown off, I find to be part of the charm/magic/place/time alchemy.

The few times I’ve experienced VA, that too has been remedied with simple aeration.

If it’s luck, I’ll take it!