I promised my friend a taste of Chateau Musar when he visited us next. Last Saturday, we opened up a bottle of the 2001 red and drank it with the family with some rib of beef. A single bottle kept six people happy for a long time; it is wine to be appreciated slowly, just like slow food, not slugged back. This is a true sign of high quality.
Chateau Musar is produced by the Hochar family in the Bekaa valley. They use organic farming techniques but as their website site suggests they were using organic farming before the term was invented. From the quality and taste of the wine I can quite believe this. The wine is superb.
I have only ever tasted the Chateau Musar red from various vintages and I have never had a bottle that is other than top quality.
The wines can easily be compared, quality wise, with a top cru from Bordeaux, the Rhône or Burgundy. This is where the comparison stops, however, as these full bodied red wines have a distinctive flavour of their own. They have concentrated and intense flavours of red fruits and spice and to me they have a very appealing savoury taste.`
I can still remember the taste of the bottle which we drank last Saturday and I feel almost certain that I could pick it out again blind. It is not often that I get to keep such pleasant memories of a wine.
After ten years or so this wine is still not at its peak. It will improve for much longer. It is an exceptional wine at a very reasonable price. It competes favourably with any wine, from any country and at any price. What better tribute to a wine could there be?
http://www.chateaumusar.com/uk/brands.aspx?pageid=126
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