Highlights: Château Musar 2004 Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
Website: https://chateaumusar.com/
Musar is the most famous name in Lebanese wine. I remember buying this distinctive wine when I first got into tasting interesting things, and then, in the early 1990s it was £8.99 in supermarkets. It’s rightfully more expensive now, and it’s not as wild as it used to be, but this 20 year old bottle really surprised me in a nice way.
Château Musar 2004 Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
14% alcohol. This was a really nice surprise. Lots of fruit, still, at 20 years old, and it is behaving itself beautifully. Lovely aromatics of sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit with a touch of blackberry, and then some savoury earthy, spicy characters, as well as a touch of woodiness. It’s warmly fruited and has some exotic spices, and even a twist of balsamic character (but not too much), with a smooth, mellow personality and then good bracing acidity that brings freshness and the promise of longevity. No hurry to open this, if you have some cellared. A lovely expression of Musar. 95/100
