WTN: 17 bottles of Musar on the wall

Wednesday NY looked like a scene from “Noah”, but I drove Betsy, her sister, her mom, and a friend to Williamsburg where Dave gave a tour of Mast Brothers Chocolate (fascinating process, though I don’t eat chocolate). Then they went to dinner while I hopped on the L train to Chelsea. I arrived at Franco’s to be greeted with waygu bresaola, great burrata, and a mag of the NV Benoit Lahaye “Essential” Champagne Brut, Apples and white cherry, fullbodied, nice balance, I quite liked B+/A-

To table for the Musar-a-thon. The first flight was with a great assortment of cheeses and a delicious rabbit pate

1991 Ch. Musar (blanc)
-darkest color, brassy, cider-y, but fresh. B

1993 Ch. Musar (blanc)
lightest, soft acids, nice flavors. B/B-

1995 Ch. Musar (blanc)
full, rather tropical fruit, honied, floral, long. B+

Arianna had made a chicken liver mousse with a shallot/raisin chutney (which someone said reminded them of charoset) which went well with next flight:

1967 Ch. Musar (blanc)
Tiring, cheesy, a lot of VA, but actually gets a bit better with air. B-

1969 Ch. Musar (blanc)
rich, full, ripe, waxy (kind of Chenin-like) B

1975 Ch. Musar (blanc)
Nutty, saline, I think it runs a little hot. B/B-

One thing I should say was disagreement about favorites was rampant for whole night for both whites and reds- I don’t think there was a consensus favorite among group.
While we disagreed about individual wines, I think I’ll concur with John’s opinion that older whites seemed to have survived well, but without adding a lot of complexity.

We moved on to reds, with the first flight served with smoked morels and peas en papillote.

1959 Ch. Musar
Full, rich, red fruited, a bit of brett, rather CdPape-ish. A-/B+

1961 Ch. Musar
This was the turnaround of the night. When this was first poured I didn’t think I could drink it- all prunes and caramel. But the pruneyness seemed to fade (to me, again others disagreed) and it became much nicer- still a little brown sugar, but on ripe plum rather than overripe/roasted fruit. B+/A-

1964 Ch. Musar
Ripe, also reminiscent of CdP, less delineated/precise than flightmates. B-

Next flight served with lamb on pita with labneh

1969 Ch. Musar
Now this one really separated folks. Clear brett, but for me this was “a walk through the barnyard” while for others it was more “stuck in a traffic jam next to urban sewage treatment plant.” Manure, earth, leather over red fruits. B+

1975 Ch. Musar
Again, my least favorite was a leader for others. Brett with a metallic meets band aid edge, a bit short. B-

1978 Ch. Musar
Sweet, spicy, good, my favorite of flight. B+/A-

1979 Ch. Musar
Lighter framed, more delicate, this is more Burg than CdP. B+

Last four reds served in two flights

1986 Ch. Musar
Bright, floral, red fruits, mushroomy. B+

1989 Ch. Musar
Others really liked, I thought a tad volatile and a tad hot. Good flavors otherwise. B/B-

1991 Ch. Musar
Bright, high toned, nice texture I quite liked at first, but picked up a just a hint of pruney note with time in glass, but not enough to keep from favors. B+/A-

1994 Ch. Musar
A bit muddy in flavors, ripe red plum, cocoa, good acids but feels plodding. B

Overall a very enjoyable dinner, thanks Craig for organizing.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

I've done a couple of verticals with Serge Hochar himself leading, and have always found it unaccountable that he is so proud of his extensively aged whites. He says they are his favourites over the reds.

Your results are par for the course - the old whites are distinguished only for their staying power and the reds are hit and miss, some quite interesting. The more current whites can be very nice - looks like you had a couple.

Yes, the whites last, and while I liked the 95, I didn't like it anywhere near $75 (current lowest WSPro) and the older ones don't encourage me to think it'll improve.
I had heard before he touts the white, and I think serves them last.

[David M. Bueker]

Paging Otto.

I understand the Hochars' love for old whites. Currently my Musar stash is 75% white!

I'm quite happy that it is generally misunderstood and/or disliked because the prices haven't gone up as much as they have with the red. And it is a rare wine - more RC de la DRC is made every year than Musar Blanc.