[WTN] Ch Musar 2001 "Hochar"

This was bought for me as a Christmas present, and advice from other denizens on the board here was to drink it now rather than wait. So I drank it

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Wine is a soft, pale, strawberry colour in the glass and smells of hazelnut and sweet oak.

The taste is extraordinarily and delightfully bizarre - a mix of savoury cheese with sweet redcurrant and strawberry fruit and very tightly integrated oak flavours lending the whole experience just a little spice which lasts into a medium finish, where it mixes with some red apple. Tannin is soft, but enough to lend some structure and acid nicely balanced.

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Pleasing and very unusual, if lacking a little in complexity. Must check out the first wine of this producer which is in my supermarket at a perfectly affordable £15 a bottle.

Matt
Good to see you crack this wine and post on it. Based on your take on it, well worth trying the Musar (especially as rumours abound of planned price rises). The main wine will be a bit more 'out there', though it wouldn't surprise me see see similarity on the fruit profile and mention of spice again.
Let us know what you think - or maybe we can get a few of us to open the same vintage of the wine and we can have an 'open mike'. I have 95, 97,99 and 00 from recollection, but will no doubt also get some 01 when it appears. I think the 94, 96 and 98 have all gone. I reckon there would be a few 'Musarites' up for an open mike if that appeals.
regards
Ian

Matt, if the "Hochar" pleased you, you certainly should try the Musar. The '99 should be available if you look around and that is a great, great year for Musar. If you find it, decant at least 4 hours before drinking.

Based on your take on it, well worth trying the Musar (especially as rumours abound of planned price rises). [...]I reckon there would be a few 'Musarites' up for an open mike if that appeals.

The price rises seem to have been implemented already. I tried ordering some with a friend of mine, but the prices had gone up 25-40% from a year ago. Musar open mike? Do you really need to ask? I'm ready - when do we start?

-Otto

Musar open mike? Do you really need to ask? I'm ready - when do we start?
-Otto

Whenever Matt gives the word I guess - we hardly need much of an excuse for a Musar!

Will be interesting to see what price movement they go for in the UK - we've already bagged a couple of bottles of the 2000 at previous price levels.

Whenever Matt gives the word I guess - we hardly need much of an excuse for a Musar!

My local branch of Waitrose has plenty of stock of the 2000. Is this any use for an open mike session? I got the impression from some other posts that it ought to be stored rather than opened now, but I'm no expert.

If we are going to do it I can pop in and pick up bottles any weekday - I assume it's worth buying more than one so I can put a couple down to cellar at least (my wine storage space is tiny, so I can't do more than that!) - and I can make up a mixed case by getting some more of this awesome stuff while I'm at it.

Matt
If you're going to open a bottle for an open mike, then might be worth grabbing a single bottle and if you like it in open mike, grabbing a few more to lay down.

I'm happy to crack a bottle of the 2000 - I've got two bottles and not tasted one yet. Also 'The brains of the operation' would never object to me opening a bottle of Musar ... unless she wasn't there, in which case I'd have some explaining to do

Might also be fun to set it up with us tasting (and commenting):
a) on opening
b) after 4-5 hours decanting

to test the theory that Musar needs plenty of air time to show it's best (I'm not sure either way, so would appreaciate an excuse for an unscientific experiment).

regards

Ian

Okay, got my bottle, just say the word.

I was tempted to buy several because Waitrose has a very substantial bulk-buy discount. But at £15 a pop full price I guess it's wise to try before taking the plunge in earnest.

I'm not entirely sure how the open mike sessions work, but having a toddler around means I can't just open a bottle of wine any old night. I can try but inevitable things like being too tired, or the wain refusing to go to sleep, or having too many mundane tasks to complete before going to bed can get in the way. So if it requires a date and time being specified then I might have to come late to the party.

I'm not entirely sure how the open mike sessions work

Fairly easy going really and no rules or etiquette - IME a few folk (often led by the wonderfully energetic Bob P) pencil in a weekend that's mutually acceptable. They agree to open (ideally) the same vintage of the same wine, but sometimes it's a bit wider e.g. wines from Durif grape. They then post their thoughts and having tasted the same or similar wines, it's a chance to mull over the wine, or indeed our different perceptions of that wine. Very easy-going stuff.

In general it pays for someone to flag the open mike a week beforehand on the forum, allowing and encouraging others to join the fun. I suspect we may get a few takers with Musar.

In terms of when, I'm pretty easy-going about it, though as I'm trying to plot a winetasting with friends for the weekend of 11th/12th April, that might not be the best weekend for me. Happy for you to make the call of a weekend that's good for you - for most a week's notice would be plenty, but as we already know the wine (Musar 2000), if folk read this they have a longer run at it and stock up if they see it.

To have a look at previous threads, search for 'Open Mike' and there'll be quite a few examples. It's pretty free and easy though.

regards

Ian

We're still stuck on the supremely brilliant 1999 here and apparently there is so much of it that 2000 might be skipped altogether. So I guess I can't join the open mike. - Unless someone knows of a shop within the EU that can ship to Finland without extortionate shipping fees for amounts less than a full case.

-O

We're still stuck on the supremely brilliant 1999 here and apparently there is so much of it that 2000 might be skipped altogether. So I guess I can't join the open mike. - Unless someone knows of a shop within the EU that can ship to Finland without extortionate shipping fees for amounts less than a full case.

-O

Tee Hee!
A Musar Open Mike and Otto can't play I can just picture it now:
"Wow, this is fantastic, what character, what poise, such complexity"
"Mine too! - How's yours Otto?"
Otto: " "

Let's see if any comes in, or if anyone else is in the same situation and only has, or wants to open, a 1999 instead. IIRC we have a couple of half-bottles of the 1999, so could be tempted to try both. Maybe we could spread it so we straddle a week and run two linked open mikes. The possibilities are, as they say, endless

regards

Ian

Hey what!! Open Mike/Musar...count me in!! Mike B where are you??

Hey Bob, I've been watching from the sidelines.

I'm in Otto's situation - we're still on the '99 here in our market. I have a couple of bottles and access to more, unless Bob scoops those up, too.

Mike B, the Grill cleared the shelf at Liquor Select!! Where have you seen some more (wink)??

Looks like I'm the odd one out here with my bottle of 2000 then. That's kind of why I asked whether it was suitable for open mike - in case everyone else had the '99. Ah well, probably should've made the point more clearly.

Anyway as luck would have it, it looks like I might be able to get myself some '99 after all, so we could do the open mike with that. My dad is coming to visit over Easter and it looks as though his local wine merchant has some '99 left in stock, so he could pick some up for me and bring it down. Then do the open mike a week or two weeks after Easter.

Since you lot are raving about the '99 so much, should I take a risk and ask him to get me more than one in spite of my not yet having tried it?

I used to not rate Hochar, but I very much enjoyed the 2000.

Musar is a legend. I loved 99, and 2000 is also really good - although I know a few of the musar nuts disagree. I've had a few bottles now and really enjoyed it.

It's just a different 'world' - I can understand why some people hate it.

Let's go for Musar week! No Otto Musar week is not EVERY week

Open Mike on Musar 99 on one weekend, filtering through to Musar 00 on the next. I may be able to do both if I indeed have those halves of the 99

Matt: I'd say go for the 99, so would Otto, but don't let our enthusiasm force your hand. Happy to run as above, so we get a view of the 99 and of the 00. So if you grab the 99, then fine, but I'm still up for tasting the 2000.

Two weeks after easter sounds good, which would put the 99 in for the last weekend in March, leading through to the 2000 in the 1st weekend in April. I think we have a plan!

I'll post a call to glasses over easter.

regards

Ian

Let's go for Musar week! No Otto Musar week is not EVERY week

It isn't? Ah, woe is me! Shakespeare could have written five act tragedy on how I feel at learning this news.

Open Mike on Musar 99 on one weekend, filtering through to Musar 00 on the next. I may be able to do both if I indeed have those halves of the 99

Matt: I'd say go for the 99, so would Otto, but don't let our enthusiasm force your hand. Happy to run as above, so we get a view of the 99 and of the 00. So if you grab the 99, then fine, but I'm still up for tasting the 2000.

Two weeks after easter sounds good, which would put the 99 in for the last weekend in March, leading through to the 2000 in the 1st weekend in April. I think we have a plan!

I'll post a call to glasses over easter.

If you do the '99 I will certainly join. The '99 is just brilliant, so I will be happy to join in any excuse in opening one.

-O

I am now the happy owner of a couple 2000s also! Ready whenever you are!

-O

Can I play too?

Can I play too?

Good to see you here Nayan! Sure you can play, everyone with the bottles in question can - I'm just waiting (impatiently BTW ) for the sign to start opening the bottles!

-O

Can I play too?

Good to see you here Nayan! Sure you can play, everyone with the bottles in question can - I'm just waiting (impatiently BTW ) for the sign to start opening the bottles!

-O

Must type quicker

Nayan
Definitely free to play (as all are), and would be great to have your views. I really like the interactive nature of the Open Mike and I'm looking forward to the idea of a double-header on 1999 and 2000 vintages.

regards

Ian

Open Mike message now posted

Got my 1999. Got three bottles, was planning to cellar two although it looks like the "courier" who bought them down for me might want to sample a bottle before he returns home, so I might only have one left to store!

Matt
Here's a thought. Rather than using up two bottles of the 1999, why not drink one with the courier and either post a note on Open Mike as an early 'taster' or hold back the note until the weekend. Then we can have a bash at the 2000 at the same time the following weekend.
regards
Ian