Hochar Père & Fils Rosé 2004 smelled just like pears. It tasted dry and quite forceful and tasted also like pears.
Musar Cuvée Réservée Rosé 2003 was very, very ripe and sweet and smelled and tasted like strawberries.
I love the Château Musar rosé but these second wines usually leave me quite cold. They are competently made but just a bit boring.
After these two appetizers we got to the real stuff:
Château Musar Rouge 1999 was as promising as I remember previous bottles to have been. Very young, closing down, but still showing great Musar character and exquisite balance. Lovely.
Château Musar Rouge 1998 was a lighter style of Musar but it was showing very well now. More elegant and citrussy in aromas than the '99 but with sweet fruit and earthiness. Nice, but probably not for the long term.
Château Musar Rouge 1995 was a bit weird: it smelled very lactic and raisiny, more ripe than I feel comfortable with. But the taste was quite fantastic, well structured, not as sweet as the nose promised but with plenty of body and concentration and power. I have liked this early in its life but contrary to many reports on the net, I find it currently rather difficult.
Château Musar Rouge 1994 was prematurely oxidised or cooked. Off.
Château Musar Rouge 1993 is a wine that I have always loved though it seems to be a rather forgotten year for Musar. A lighter style, elegant for Musar but shows all the typically Musarian aromas and textures of bright red fruit, earth and slight animality and VA. Though lighter than some of the more lauded years, I find it perfectly proportioned and with a couple hours decanting it drinks really well now. Very nice.
Château Musar Rouge 1991 was, as always, a stunning wine. Alongside the '72 and occasionally the '88 this tends to be among my favourite Musars. Much fruit, quite dark for Musar, it seems much, much younger than its age - in fact it still has primary fruit and baby fat. Quite tannic for Musar, but also refreshingly acidic to counter the huge, sweet fruit. Impeccably balanced, but very primary still. Lovely. But I think it can only improve.
Château Musar Rouge 1990 was the surprise of this tasting. I have before found this vintage disjointed and unpleasantly green. Not so anymore. This is a lighter style, but it is recognisably Musar in its sweetly red and savoury profile, but it is a leafy and fully mature wine. Though the attack has some sweet fruit, the finish is a bit drying. Certainly not a great Musar, but this time it did bring pleasure. Decent.
Château Musar Rouge 1989 was a classic Musar and seemed like the '93 in that it is slightly lighter than some of the "great" years, but had impeccable balance and showed great character. In such company this might (and indeed was) be easily overlooked - but I think it encapsulates everything that Musar is about. I very much enjoyed it.
Château Musar Rouge 1988 was a dark toned and quite brooding wine. It was masculine and tannic, magisterial and awe-inspiring - the Latour of the vintages on show tonight - yet still unmistakeably Musar in its overall profile. I have usually liked the 1991 most of recent vintages, but on the showing tonight I might actually prefer the '88!
Château Musar Rouge 1978 was a new vintage to me. This was fully mature, but still sweetly fruity, with that typically Musarian bright red aromas mixed with earth and leather and all this savoury. It seems a lighter style for Musar but has held up very well - in fact, if this bottle is the norm, there is absolutely no hurry with it - and still shows an elegant but bright fruitiness and a classic Musar profile. Very nice.
Château Musar Rouge 1977 2 bottles - both corked - as have been all but one bottle I've tried. A shame as that one bottle was truly exceptional.
Château Musar Rouge 1967 was another new vintage for me. Fully mature and finally one in which I found a touch of brett rather than slight hints of animality. The palate was impeccably balanced and true to the house style. Some found the wine a bit drying and slightly over the hill; I thought it was at its peak and found a lovely balance of aged and fruit-based aromatics. Very nice.
Château Musar Blanc 1999 was quite impressive though painfully young. Some sweet fruit aromas, lots of earth and sea-shells, a little oxidative; full bodied, powerful, tannic, quite brutish - quite red wine like, in fact, apart from the colour.
Château Musar Blanc 1998 was very banana-like/estery, weird. Tannic, full bodied and slightly oxidative. I liked the palate much more than the overwhelmingly estery nose. In a tough phase, I presume, since I have loved the wine in my previous tastes.
Château Musar Blanc 1996 was a stunning wine, but painfully young. Earthy and savoury, it smells like Cantillon's Gueuze - very full and tannic palate but light on its feet. This is more like colourless red wine than white.
With dinner I had a glass of Čotar Sauvignon Blanc 2004 which was quite funky and earthy, perhaps a bit closed but a must try for all of us who like a truly unique, natural, food friendly wine. Gloriously natural-seeming structure, enough fruit to keep it from being too challenging, very mineral. If there is one thing I might criticize, it is that it isn't obviously Sauv Bl - but since I don't usually like the grape all that much, that might just be good!
For dessert we had Kracher TBA #10 Zwischen den Seen 2005 (from Scheurebe) which smelled rather Rieslingy and brightly citrussy despite its clean, botrytis scents. The palate was simply massive. Impressive but heavy.
-Otto