Chateau Musar 1997 - 13.5% alc.
Day 1 - Served at room temp (i.e.;70 degrees) opening and pouring an hour before dinner. I drank one glass within 30 min. of opening and prior to dinner with only a slice of French bread, then another glass during the meal 30 min. later. Menu consisted of filet mignon, button mushrooms sauteed in a peppery EVOO from Sicily with fresh rosemary and a salad of baby lettuces with tomatoes, red onion, and walnuts with a light raspberry balsamic vinaigrette.
This red wine's color is a clear, deep garnet, not ruby, and it graduates to a redwood, rust edge. It has a subtle nose of currants and strawberry memories, is dry and crisp with a distinct minerality and a very quick evolution that seized my mid-palate assertively. I would classify this Musar as a *light-bodied wine with a smooth mouth feel that registered gently but decisively as it caressed the length of my tongue. IMO, it was an excellent complement to the meal and concluded with a very pleasant finish that left me wanting more. I complied
Day 2 - Served at room temp again, but this time with a simple appetizer of bruschetta which I prepared with a garlic rub, then topped with a mixture of finely diced plum tomatoes, fresh basil, sea salt and pepper. The second day I found the light berry flavors that I noted on day one to be more pronounced, which surprised me. It was as though this Musar didn't want to disappoint me and revealed its depths more openly, though I didn't recognize it as "secretive" when I drank it on day one. I wouldn't refer to this wine as sensually complex in the same way G-B's Apostoles Palo Cortado Sherry is, but rather as a more delicate, yet tenacious beauty that is defined by its place in the world. This would, no doubt, sound silly in the standard, prosaic TN, but as I drank through the various stages of decanting, I sensed a "longing" in this wine, as though it "wanted" to express itself more fully but felt constrained by its physicality. I will understand completely if that makes absolutely no sense to anyone else, but it was both a joy and a mystery to experience a little bit of Lebanon through her. Yes, this wine is a "she."
Day 3 - Alas, this bottle of wine was finished last night, so I have no additional reflections to share. I do know that, like "my" Apostoles sherry, I consider this wine a gift to my soul not just my palate. Musar does indeed rock, Otto. Thank you for sharing your passion. ~ Deborah
*I will note here that Otto disagrees with me on this descriptor and believes this particular vintage to be quite robust. Perhaps it was my menu that "softened" the effects of this Musar, but I truly did not think of it as a full-bodied wine in the sense of weight or alcohol content; it rather struck my palate as light and fresh, and immensely drinkable. The alcohol content of 13.5% also did not seem to overpower this vintage as many other wines that I've had in recent memory. It was a wine that definitely stayed with you, so in that sense, Otto is correct. If there be any error in judgement concerning this characteristic, no doubt it is mine.
) There's only so much wine this gal can consume in a week!