Chateau Musar Rosé 2008
12% abv. A blend mostly of the white grapes Obaideh and Merwah with c.5% Cinsault added to produce a very pale salmon rosé. This has only just been released and is the only young Musar Rosé I have tried (though I have had plenty of the 1995). The greatest surprise is that for the first half hour open it had slight hints of French oak on the nose! I hate oak aromas so I am glad they disappeared quickly. It is Musar and it is mostly white grapes so it is only natural that it smells and tastes more like a red wine than a rosé or a white. Earthy and fragrant with sweet red berry aromas; some vegetal (not under-ripe!) and mineral aromas emerge and it ends up smelling not so much of leaves of grass but rather like cucumbers. How delightfully weird. The palate is just marvelous: electric and full of ZING! And all of a sudden through the citric zing a supreme richness appears. And instead of a lingering fatness and heaviness that doesn't make me want to have another sip, the zing returns with more fervor and demands I drink more. Moreish and wonderful but painfully young (I get an electric shock with every sip).