The last time I visited Musar was in 2007 with my dad. The same lady that guided us then was there this time- small world. My uncle and I started the tour with a visit to the cellars where thousands upon thousands of bottles lay, waiting for the right time. Behind locked gates were library wines back to the beginning of this iconic winery’s inception. The wines of Musar are known to be very cellar worthy and can last a long, long time.
The tasting started with their entry level white, rosé and red followed by the flagship white- a blend of Obeidi and Merwah. Complex and layered with fruit and tertiary notes, we would revisit this wine AFTER tasting the reds- pretty bold move.
The mid level red was very good, fresh and easy to drink. The top level cuvee, from 2015 was youthful, tight but brimming with potential. I love this wine, in youth and in maturity. We tasted the white again, which was an interesting experiment. The tertiary notes really started to evolve after some time- a profound wine with complexity that will only deepen as time goes on. From the 2013 vintage, it too is a young wine. I did not appreciate their whites when I first tried them years ago, I think they need plenty of cellaring and good decant, a point I will stick to with the bottles I brought home. Speaking of which- I took two bottles to a tasting in the UK. The 1996 red was in the top 3 wines of the night against some pretty heavy hitters. The 1998 white was sublime and open for business.
It was a treat to visit the winery and taste their offerings. Salut….
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