Bekaa Valley Red Blend

Decanted for 4.5 hours; consumed over 2 hours. So very young but already an extraordinary showing. This is a positively sublime expression of Musar: tart cherries, wild game, dates, Fig Newtons, tobacco, Herbes de Provence, alfalfa...simply delight to behold. Monumental structure with ample tannin an acid to balance the avalanche of fruit. Makes me wonder how long these could go. Easily one of the top 5 wines I’ve had this year. Oh baby...this is good.

Musar never disappoints. 00 and 03 were in almost perfect condition!

Musar always takes you on a journey and this was no different! Probably a bit better with another decade of age, but who has the patience!

Part of a Musar wine dinner. Served with a braised short rib alongside the 2009 Musar red as well. This ‘98 was very high toned and went beautifully with the smokiness of the short rib and the was just lifted by the pistou underneath. It was in a great place.

Vintage 2006 - always special to taste Musar. Made from the three C’s #cinsault #carignan #cabernetsauvignon Mature smell with richness, a lot of complexity, the wine is in smell and taste warm as well as multi- layered. Plums also. Nice to taste Musar again. #lebanonwine

The 1997 is incredibly elegant and confident. Graceful impact and gentle attack. The most Burgundy-like of the Musars I’ve tasted. Still has a ton of youthful vigor, focus and energy. Zero palate weight. Elevated VA is allowing the aromatics to really take off. The most refined and beautiful Musar I’ve had yet, covering the broad spectrum of red berries, herbs, leather, spices and minerals. Funky yet refined.

Very pronounced brett and old saddle aromatics. Dusty gravel-like mouthfeel, wrapped in silky and rather sweet tannins. The acidity isn’t quite as present as more classic vintages. Perhaps not the most fine-tuned Musar red I’ve had but it’s immensely quirky, interesting and complex just as it is.

Very secondary but still retaining loads of sweet fruit. Plums, figs, chocolate, coffee, cherry compote and leather are bursting forth right now. Double-decanted and tasted with Marc Hochar in Napa.

Noticeably more oxidized than the 2010 with smoke accents and hints of wet concrete. Feels tighter and more acid driven despite the significantly higher ph. More perfumed and juicier on the palate than most of the others. Vintage variations at Musar are enormous, as always.

Prunes and raisins on the nose with surprisingly high acidity in the palate. Subtle brett, but generally this is one of the more clean and polished vintages. More ripeness and primary fruit character for Musar, but with the hallmark minerality and elegant structure. Very little weight.