Serge Hochar, Musar in Vancouver

I attended the Vancouver Wine Festival last week, and tried lots of interesting wines, but I thought I'd mention my Musar memories for Otto and other Musar lovers on WLDG.

Four wines were on offer for tasting, and Serge was on hand to pour the 2003 Rose, 2001 Hochar & Fils, 1998 Musar and 1999 Musar blanc. The funniest thing was that 80% of the tasters wanted to taste the white first, and Serge growled 'NO!' at all of them immediately, and sternly told them they had to try the other wines first. He called the blanc the 'third red'. I tried to have a chat with him, but he wasn't too talkative; the room might have been a little too loud and busy, I think. But you could tell by the twinkle in his eye he was a real character.

I didn't take notes - it's just too overwhelming at such a big tasting - but I loved the Rose; more like red wine in power and complexity, and it still had that Musar funkiness about it. I grabbed a bottle at the very fair price of $25 CDN - shoulda bought a few more! Very tasty and unique. The Hocar was nice enough - a baby Musar, as some have stated, but I passed on buying it. It's available in BC all the time, and sells for about $30. The 1998 seemes like a nice young Musar: medium bodied, with sandalwood notes and a hint of barnyard and leather. It's regularly available here, and sells for $60 - I tend to wait until a sale. The blanc was facinating to me, although everybody else I forced to try it weren't as impressed - more puzzled, I think! Once you got past the oxidized nose, the palate was a very unique blend of exotic flavours and had a lovely smooth texture. I bought a bottle of this for a great price of $36. Again, I'm regretting not buying more.

I would have liked to have a chat with Serge, but was glad he came to Vancouver for the Festival, and hope to see him and his great wines again next year!

Another real character of a winemaker who I chatted more with was Brian Lynn of Majella wines in Coonawarra, OZ. We had a great argument about mechanized pruning and picking in Coonawarra, and his Majella cabernet 2004 and Maleea 2004 were both excellent wines. His sparkling shiraz was great as well - very dry, and dangerously easy to drink.

Was the rosé the Cuvée Musar rosé - a barrel sample? I think the last Ch. Musar Rosé (1st label) released is the 1995 and only the Père et Fils and Cuvée Musar have been released since. The rosé can be brilliant - I'm hoping to get the '95 in quantity soon!

I'm glad Serge growled "NO!" at the people wanting the white first. The white is in many ways a weightier wine than the red so drinking the white first will swamp the red afterwards. "Third red" is a very apt way of describing the white. I was once "blinded" by a white 1998 with food colour in it to look like a red and it fooled me completely - but I guess this wasn't surprising since white Musar can be a surprisingly tannic white and can have brett on the nose (and I don't think brett is often associated with whites).

But I am surprised that Serge wasn't talkative - he seemed like a man who wouldn't let the busy world about him distract him from his philosophical (and talkatively so) ponderings.

I'm happy you enjoyed these wonderful wines!

-Otto-

Thanks for the notes John. Wish I could have been there.

Makes sense that the white would come after the reds. It's a very full bodied wine.

The rose was from the bottle, and I'm pretty sure it was the 2003 vintage. I really enjoyed it, and the price was excellent. One of the best roses I've ever had.

I knew Serge always puts the white after the reds in tastings, but it was amusing to see and hear Serge's response to people trying to follow the 'normal' tasting order!

[Jenise]

John, someone I know who was lucky enough to get into the private tasting sent these notes on that event. I'm posting them here with his permission.

Cynthia--this is what you might have missed in Santa Fe!


We tasted 8 reds and 4 whites and the unusual and unique experience was that the reds were tasted before the whites. The whites stood up to the challenge very well. The food was mostly bits of finger food and largely irrelevant.

The red wines are a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan. The actual composition varies from year to year. My notes as follows:


1995: Bright ruby garnet with some brick on the edge. Spicy, red fruit, earthy nose. Concentrated fruit, approaching balance, young but showing some maturity. Firm tannins, some volatile acidity, long ripe finish. Has a long way to go. I am glad to say I own a couple of bottles of this vintage.


1991: Dark ruby with a hint of brick on the edge. Spicy, earthy, some leather and tea leaf on the nose. Still has tannins but softening. Full bodied, ripe black cherries and anise. A little austere but great complexity and balance. Very polished refined wine. Drinking very well. Mature and fully ready but will last for many years.


1988: Very dark garnet to the edge. Big red cherries and spice. Younger than the 1991. Soft supple tannins, great balance and structure. Very intense with a long finish. Will probably continue to age and develop. Excellent wine.


1981: Brick, sienna colour. Chocolate, coffee, dark fruit on the nose. Herbs, minerals. Big, concentrated ripe fruit. Peppery spice on the palate. Firm tannins, and great structure and balance. Powerful wine. No sign of decline even with the bricky colour. Another excellent wine.


1978: Orange bricky garnet colour. Nose of minerals, tobacco and earth. Ripe concentrated cherries fruit, mature wine, rich, great balance. Some drying at the finish.


1972: Beautiful, ruby with orange edge. Nose of anise, mint, earth. Ripe, round, luscious wine. Still has tannins, great length and finish.


1966: Very dark garnet, brick edge. Soft entry, ripe concentrated red fruits. Spicy, savoury and leathery nose. Very mature and peppery spice. Some drying on the finish.


1956: Beautiful dark brick colour. Dried fruit aromas. Some cedar and cigar box. Mature but still youthful with resolved tannins, silky on the palate. Rich, long sweet finish. Delicious wine, excellent balance and complexity.


All very good wines, drinking very well in different stages of their lives. Difficult to choose a favorite. I have a couple of bottles of the 1995 (also 93 and 98 but these weren’t included in the tasting).


The white wines are a blend of Obeideh and Merwah grapes, native to the Bekka Valley and Mount Lebanon. Apparently, according to legend, Obeideh and Merwah were taken back to Europe by the Crusaders and are the likely ancestors of Chardonnay and Semillon respectively.

1995: Pale gold amber. Great aromas of peaches, apricots and almonds. Forward and unusual tannins for a white wine. Soft creamy entry and smooth silky texture. Rich flavors of nuts, mandarins, honey. Long rich finish.


1989: A little darker amber than the 1995. Peaches, nuts, honey on the nose. Lighter on the palate than the 1995 but more elegant and complex. Youthful, soft, rich, spicy, complex, long finish.


1969: Dark gold amber colour. Melony, peaches and apricots, toasty, roasted almonds on the nose. Rich fruit on the palate with soft tannins evident and very well balanced with acidity at the finish.


1966: Dark gold colour. Rich, toasty, semillon like. Sweet, nutty fruit. Soft tannins and long finish. Much like a dry sauterne if that’s not a contradiction. Very much alive and peaking.

Jenise, I would travel far to be able to go to tasting like that.

-o-(in need of old Moose whites)

I would have loved to attend that tasting as well - it was the only special tasting event that interested me this year - but unfortunately I was out of town then. But thanks for the vicarious experience, Jenise!

I really wish we couldf get the rose and blanc here on a regular basis, I really enjoyed them for it's uniqueness (and tastiness). Hopefully Serge will be back next year!

And Jenise, you should come next year too!