Opinions on upcoming Chateau Musar wine dinner, please

I received this notice via e-mail today. La Casa Sena is a very good restaurant here in Santa Fe, with an excellent wine shop.

$226 is a little bit more than I would normally spend on a evening out for myself, but would this be one of those nights one never forgets? Or.... ?

All opinions welcome.


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La Casa Sena is honored and excited to host Serge Hochar, owner & winemaker of Chateau Musar, for a very special wine dinner on March 22, 2007. If you are not familiar with Chateau Musar this is a rare opportunity to experience one of the worlds most unique and respected wines and to meet the man behind these treasures. If you are already familiar with Musar then I’m sure you recognize, and share, my excitement about this event.

Hochar will lead us through a vertical of juxtaposed wines from 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1990 and the legendary 1972, while Chef Patrick Gharrity will pair a 5-course menu to the wines. To finish (yes, finish with white) the evening we will pour the 1990 & 1999 vintages of the Musar Blanc.

Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. with sit down dinner to follow. Seating is very limited. The evening is $226/person inclusive of tax and gratuity.

As a brief introduction to the wines of Musar, we will be pouring the 1999 Musar Blanc, 2001 “Hochar” Rouge and the 2004 Rose by-the-glass in the Cellar Lounge, Dining Room and La Cantina.

For reservations or questions call 505-988-9232.

Where's Otto when you need him?

Cynthia - I'd suggest you edit your title and put Chateau Musar in it. Otherwise the Chateau Musar gurus (not just Otto) may not even look at this post.

Pretty unique wines, you may want to try one before shelling out 200+.

I dunno - $226 is an awful lot to pay, even for wines as interesting as the Musars. It would have to be a hell of a dinner and you'd have to be quite a fan of Hochar's wines to make it worthwhile. I've been to Musar tastings that were much less expensive (although they certainly didn't go back to the '72).

Mike

[Jenise]

Depending on what you think of La Casa Sena and what others have said of meeting Serge Hochar, it will probably be an evening you will never forget. But I admit, considering that the wines are all, but one, fairly recent vintages, it does seem rather expensive.

I tried to get into a similar dinner in Canada in late March--that was priced at $150.

Yeah, I agree that price is a tad steep!!

Cynthia,
I too love La Casa Sena's food, but unless they're planning a truly wonderful meal, that's a very steep tariff. As others have said, Musar is not to everyone's taste: their reds often have a very volatile note to them and their whites are like few other white wines. If you're not familiar with their wines, you might want to try one or two before committing so much money.

Mark Lipton

I would vote yes, enthusiastically, Cynthia. Dinner at La Casa Sena, one of the very best restaurants in a very good restaurant town, would run you around $90 to $100 with tip and tax. Say $100.

You are paying $125 for nine very unusual wines, about $15 a glass. The whites and the 1972 are tough to find. And, you get to spend an evening with a legendary winemaker -- he is an excellent presenter and I'm sure you will be impressed with what he and his fellow workers have been able to accomplish under extremely trying circumstances.

On the merits, a really great opportunity for great food and interesting wines.

Yes, vote I, recognizing, of course, I'm spending your money.

Regards, Bob

Where's Otto when you need him?

At 3am when this was posted?

The price is a bit steep, but if the food is as good as that, I would go (if I had the money). The 1972 is a wine that in my world is equally as good as La Tâche 1959! That is one stunning wine. The white 1990 is brilliant also.

But I would go because I know I love these wines (the red 1990 and 1996 apart) passionately. If you have never tasted Musar, it might be a very expensive disappointment.

I have dined at La Casa Sena a couple dozen times since I have lived in New Mexico... the food is always excellent, the service can be uneven.

I have never had any Musar wines. Maybe I'll pop in this weekend and try one or two.

Thanks for the input everyone!

The price is steeper than I'd normally go for, but I'd make the exception in this case. But Cynthia, trying Musar first is wise. Not everyone likes it and you could be setting yourself up for disappointment if it's not to your taste.

Once you find a bottle, make sure you decant it well in advance - at least two hours. In fact, I'd suggest PMing Otto and asking for some tips.

Musar is a perfect match with lamb, by the way.

Another vote for trying a bottle before you spend the money.

As mentioned above, these wines are highly idiosyncratic, and if you are at all sensitive to brett or volatile acidity, you might find them very difficult to appreciate, which could make the event less worthwhile, depending on the freedom of your cashflow.

I have never had any Musar wines. Maybe I'll pop in this weekend and try one or two.

Excellent idea. Do let us know which vintages are available and which you will try!

-O-

because I'll be just coming back from RhoneRangers that week.
That being said, I still would pass on this event. Of the Musars that I've had over the yrs, some 5-7 in number, I've yet to find one that really excites me. Their schtick is that they're grown in Lebanon under non-optimal political conditions. I've found they tend to be bretty and unclean, though I've not had many from recent vintages, so he may have cleaned up his act..don't know though.
$225 can buy an awful lot of EdStJohn wines. I have a few xtras of his wines from the 25-30 cases my group has bought over the last year. Give me a call if you're interested in a few to try.
Tom

No experience with Musar wines myself.

That said, the fact that you haven't had any either, and the fact that you're even asking whether or not you should go, I would say you should definitely pass.

An event like this should be reserved for people who are in awe of the wine and/or the winemaker.

Take the money you would have spent on the dinner and buy several of his wines to try, and enjoy it with several friends.

[Jenise]

An event like this should be reserved for people who are in awe of the wine and/or the winemaker.

A contrarian view: Meeting the winemaker and having great wine paired with great food can cause you to acquire the sense of awe you didn't have to begin with. Been there....

I've yet to find one that really excites me. Their schtick is that they're grown in Lebanon under non-optimal political conditions. I've found they tend to be bretty and unclean, though I've not had many from recent vintages, so he may have cleaned up his act..don't know though.

I've heard this so many times. I don't think that anyone's love for Musar stems from the story behind the troubles they faced during the civil war.

I wish I could have viewed Musars over a longer time frame, but I don't think there have been drastic changes over the years. Some say that the early 80's were a turning point. I haven't been able to taste these vintages from youth to maturity because of my age, but having tasted 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's side by side, I didn't see a change in style. But who knows - I'm too inexperienced to say. The levels of brett and VA and other "faults"* are tolerable to me.

*I don't find these as faults, but rather elements - like oak - that one likes or doesn't and differing levels.

-O-

I wish I could have viewed Musars over a longer time frame, but I don't think there have been drastic changes over the years.

At a tasting with Ralph in Cambridge, we were told that throughout the vintages in the late 90s they deliberately worked to reduce the level of VA by bottling earlier, but they felt the level in the 98 was a tad too low. I also seem to remember from the same tasting, something about their VA levels exceeding legal limits in some countries, which presumably also gave them some incentive to cut back. (We had the 98, 94, 91, 80, 77, 72, and white 98 and 93 for some ridiculously small sum of money )

$225 can buy an awful lot of EdStJohn wines. I have a few xtras of his wines from the 25-30 cases my group has bought over the last year. Give me a call if you're interested in a few to try.

I shall indeed, Tom. I've been hoping work would calm down enough to have time to do so. Soon, I hope!!

Hi Cynthia,
I would give it a try. Might be a bit on the pricy side, but if you are curious, it woud be worth a try.

Also, at MoCool this past year, the Noland brothers hosted a Masur vertical
Check out
http://www.wineloverspage.com/mocool/

A little high in price for the vintage selection (they could have at least thrown in the 1991!). I would probably pay it for the chance to meet the winemaker and taste the 1972 again, but if you're not sure you like the wine it's a little iffy.

Do you know your general attitude towards VA? If you have a low tolerance then you should probably avoid it. Personally I love a touch of VA which is one of the reasons I like Musar so much.

John, as much as I like to give credit to the Noland brothers, I believe it was OW, and I along with Mike Conner who provided the Musar reds for the tasting, and I contributed a 1998 Musar white as a foil for Robins CNDP white. However the Noland Brothers do rock!

Bob,
I'll stand corrected. However, I do remember that the Noland Brothers were gracious in hosting the event in their room. Remember, much of that weekend tends to be a blurrr.