WCC Blind Tasting of Chateau Musar and Château Montrose
Salty's Pub & Bistro,
Clifton Park, NY
11/5/2015
My Albany area group gathered to taste wines provided by one generous member (Larry S).
The wines were served totally blind. That is, we were told absolutely nothing about
the wines before or during the tasting.
Click on any image for a much larger view of that image (which may contain more picture).
John Marzilli and his staff prepared an excellent and abundant meal to go with the wines.
John Marzilli chats with Joel.
Flight 1: 1970s Musar
Soup & Sandwich: Terrine and Consommé of Rabbit with Cranberry Mustarda and Cornichone.
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1970 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Dirty, mulchy, dried up old wine.
Drink up, with far less decant. Group WOTN. Go figure.
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1972 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening. According to the article in Decanter
referenced below, Serge Hochar said he would chose this wine as his last wine to drink.]
No nose. Silky. Tart mulch, pleasant.
(87 points)
-
1975 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Sweet, delicate. Very mature.
Could be old Burgundy or Barolo or Bordeaux. Hard to tell at this stage of decay.
(86 points)
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1978 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Musty, too old or too much air time.
(78 points)
Second Food Course
Truffled Sea Scallops Wrapped in Savoy Cabbage with Celery Root Purée and Purple Asparagus.
Jared inhales that truffle aroma.
Flight 2: 1983 and 1986 Musar and Montrose
Carrot & Gjetost Salad with Green Grape Verjus, Maple Yogurt, Baby Amaranth,
Bulls Blood Radish Greens, and Clover.
Gjetost ("Yay-toast") is a very creamy, sweet Norwegian goat cheese.
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1983 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Classic Bordeaux nose. Lively, complex.
Mature, but absolutely delicious tonight. A welcome change from the first flight.
My #3 WOTN. Group #3 WOTN. (95 points)
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1983 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Off. Corked. Or maybe it was my glass since
others like it a lot. (NR)
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1986 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] Yummy, mulchy, complex. Long and delicious.
I'm pretty sure at this point, that this flight is some kind of Old World mature Cabernet.
(93 points)
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1986 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for one hour the previous evening.] A touch bitter, but complex and interesting.
(91 points)
Chef Ryan tells us about the food.
Flight 3: 1989 and 1990 Musar and Montrose
Fig-stuffed Breast of Duck with Parsnip amp; Brussel Sprout Hash, Sweet Potato and Cracklings.
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1989 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Mulch and red fruit nose.
Complex, long, sweet, interesting. (93 points)
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1989 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] A real beast of a wine.
Tannic and structure. Young and complex. This wine has a great future. Still backward.
Group #2 WOTN. (94-? points)
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1990 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Sweet, complex, soft tannins.
Long and interesting finish. A gorgeous wine. (94 points)
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1990 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Sweet and nearly perfect to drink tonight.
Such a gorgeous and seductive wine. Still young, but ready. Should drink well for 20 more years,
but why wait? My #2 WOTN by a narrow margin. (96 points)
Flight 4: 1999 and 2000 Musar and Montrose
Ragout of Oxtail and Crispy Honeycomb of Tripe, with Forest Mushroom Polenta and Warm Veal Vinaigrette.
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1999 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Complex, long delicious.
What a great tasting! By now, I'm sure these are Old World Cabernet-based wines of great quality.
(93 points)
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1999 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Black and red fruit nose.
Complex, long, delicious. (93 points)
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2000 La Dame de Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening. According to the Wine Advocate, this
wine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot.] Lively, vivacious. Delicious tonight.
(93 points)
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2000 Château Montrose - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening.] Tannic and luscious.
This must be the youngest wine of the evening by quite a bit.
We have traveled a long way from Flight 1! (94 points)
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2000 Chateau Musar - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley
[Double decanted for two hours the previous evening. According to Broadbent Selections (until
recently, the US importer), the 2000 vintage of Chateau Musar is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon,
Cinsault and Carignan – approximately one third of each.]
Just a terrific, multilayered wine. My WOTN by a narrow margin.
A great way to end this wonderful tasting. (96 points)
Local Hudson Valley Cheese Course
A Goat Cheese Stuffed Pepper, Honey-Laced Bleu Cheese, Fall-Spiced Cheddar with Clove, and Poached Pear.
Conclusion
This was a wonderful experience. It is certainly challenging to taste wines totally blind and
have to make up your own mind without external clues. It's like reading or watching a great mystery
that you can't fully appreciate until the very end.
In this case, I was quite sure by flight 3 that these were all Old World-style Cabernet-based wines.
I thought most likely Bordeaux, but something hinted that they could be Spanish or Italian.
Guess I had to go a little farther east for the Musar.
Notes posted from CellarTracker.
The Wineries
According to the winery website,
Chateau Musar Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from vineyards near the
Bekaa Valley villages of Aana and Kefraya on gravelly soils over limestone.
Planted from the 1930s onwards, yields are low from these mature bushvines (average age: 40 years):
35hl per hectare.
The varietal components in Chateau Musar Red undergo lengthy fermentations in cement vats at
temperatures below 30°C. 6 months after the harvest they are transferred into French barrels
(oak from the forest of Nevers) for one year.
The varietal components are brought together two years after the harvest; the resulting blend
is then placed back in cement tanks before being bottled 12 months later.
Each wine is blended to reflect the character of the vintage.
After 4 years’ bottle maturation in the deep stone cellars of Chateau Musar, the finished wines
are released a full seven years after the harvest.
The amount of each of the three grapes varies from vintage to vintage.
Much more on this winery can be found in this
Decanter article by Andrew Jefford.
According to various sources, the vineyard of
Château Montrose is planted with
65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and just 2% Petit Verdot.
The blend in the final grand vin can vary from year to year.
The second wine, La Dame de Montrose, usually contains just Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)
Rank | Pts | Wine |
1 | 12 | 1970 Ch. Musar |
2 | 10 | 1989 Ch. Montrose |
3 | 8 | 1983 Ch. Musar |
4 | 7 | 1972 Ch. Musar |
5(tie) | 5 | 1990 Ch. Montrose |
5(tie) | 5 | 1989 Ch. Musar |
5(tie) | 5 | 2000 Ch. Musar |
8(tie) | 4 | 1975 Ch. Musar |
8(tie) | 4 | 1983 Ch. Montrose |
8(tie) | 4 | 2000 Ch. Montrose |
11 | 3 | 1990 Ch. Musar |
12(tie) | 1 | 1986 Ch. Montrose |
12(tie) | 1 | 1999 Ch. Musar |
All original content © Ken Vastola