Klaxon alert! We’ve a bona fide Spectator scoop and if you love Chateau Musar as much as I think you do – and all Speccie readers love Ch. Musar – then please get your skates on!
Our good friends at Mr Wheeler are giving us ten days before anyone else (including the Wine Society) in which to snap up the newly released 2018 Ch. Musar. Not only that, but we’ve also a pair of exquisite back vintages I would hate you to miss, along with the estate’s white and two simpler reds.
The 2017 Ch. Musar White (1) takes a while to get used to, being unlike any other white wine I can think of, though – as I’ve said here before – there’s a passing similarity to fine white Rhône. Once you do get used to this oak-fermented blend of two indigenous varieties – Obaideh and Merwah – though, I’d be amazed if you didn’t love it. The tastebuds just need time to recalibrate. It’s brimming with zesty citrus, fresh apples, honey, nuts, vanilla and a touch of umami savouriness and is blooming tasty. £34.95 down from £38.95.
The wines have come direct from Lebanon into Mr Wheeler’s cellars and the provenance is impeccable
The 2021 Musar Jeune Red (2), with its dizzy-making, psychedelic red label, is the estate’s entry-level red, made from concrete-fermented, young vine Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault, blended expressly for carefree drinking. Similar in quality to a fine Côtes du Rhône Villages, it has an uplifting freshness and a pleasing, teasing complexity, and is hugely enjoyable with its lively, ripe bramble fruit and hint of spice. £15.95 down from £17.95.
The 2019 Hochar Père et Fils Red (3) is a single vineyard wine of real quality that sits between the above wine and the grand vin. A blend of Grenache (mainly), Cinsault and Cab Sauv, aged in Nevers oak barrels, it’s rich, ripe and fulfilling with plenty of sweet, juicy fruit, spice and herbs. Released just two years ago, it’s now firmly in its stride. £22.95 down from £24.95.
So to the newly released 2018 Chateau Musar (4) itself. An equal blend of super-ripe (thanks to an August heatwave) Cab Sauv, Carignan and Cinsault, fermented separately with natural yeasts and aged for 12 months in oak, it’s a fabulous wine. ‘Oh goodness, it just makes me want to dive straight in!’ exclaimed Mrs Ray, an uncharacteristically modest first sip being quickly followed by her signature open-wide-and-down-the-hatch. With rich, intense, sweet ripe and dried blackcurrants, blackberries and plums; peppery spice and notes of tarragon and, hmmm, can’t quite put my finger on it but maybe fennel, there’s so much to enjoy here, and it’s at a glorious stage. £37.95 down from £41.95.
And if you want to see how mighty Musar ages, make a beeline for these two superlative back vintages: the 2003 Ch. Musar (5) and 2004 Ch. Musar (6). We shared the 2018 and these with chums over supper – although I’m not sure I’d call Mrs R’s ‘hang on, let me just double check it’s OK first’ method of pouring exactly ‘sharing’ – and it was wonderful to see the smiles of delight upon their faces as they tried them, none of them having tasted Chateau Musar before.
Both wines are in peak condition with that inimitable sweet Musar fruit, silky tannins and touch of spice. I can’t chose between them, so seductive are they both, and would happily drink either for as long as the tap kept running. The wines have come direct from Lebanon into Mr Wheeler’s cellars and the provenance is impeccable. Quantities are limited, though, so it’s only fair that we restrict customers to just six bottles of each. £79.50 per bottle, down from £85.
The Musar Experience mixed case has three bottles each of wines 1-4, while wines 5 and 6 are available in unmixed boxes of six, with a maximum order of one box of each per customer. Delivery is, as ever, free.
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