WTN: Musar Rose

My wife served this to me blind. We drink quite a lot of Musar, thanx to Otto and his wonderful notes over the years on many different vintages. I bought this a few months back at auction, and I should have bought all of them in retrospect.

• 2004 Chateau Musar Cuvée Rosé - Lebanon, Bekaa Valley (12/1/2010)
  
  I could kick myself for not buying more of these from WineBid. But never having had a Musar Rose, I wasn't sure what to expect. Darkish in the glass, for a moment I thought older Pinot. No cloying flavors, tons of grip and structure, this is one of the best Roses I've had, and I've had a lot. Bright red fruit, this would likely be even more interesting a few years down the road. Tonite it was a joy to savor, and it was a perfect foil for a simple fish and veggie paella. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

[...]this would likely be even more interesting a few years down the road.

Actually, probably not. In fact, I'm surprised this lesser of Musar's rosés has stood up so well. The Ch. Musar Rosé ages brilliantly, I've tasted a 1995 recently that was very fresh and IIRC their American importer, Bart Broadbent, has had good experiences of the Rosé all the way back to the '40s. But their second wines like the Cuvée and the Hochar Père & Fils are meant to be enjoyed young, and they aren't made in as oxidative fashion so, ironically, they oxidise faster.

Ever since I've been in London, I've drank more Musar! It's not that I don't like it in the US, its purely price. In the US, I get my Musar for around $50-55 per bottle. In London, its between 14-17 GBP ($20-$25). At more than half price off, I'm drinking up!

Michael, the folks on the UK wine forum organise about 3/4 Musarthons a year!

I've never even thought about searching a UK wine site, very interesting! Which one would that be? It would be neat to see how they Musar!

I've never even thought about searching a UK wine site, very interesting! Which one would that be? It would be neat to see how they Musar!

http://www.wine-pages.com/cgi-bin2/ultimatebb.cgi

If you ever participated in ERP or Berserkers you'll recognize some names.

Many thanks for that!