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Tasting Notes
A dense deep red with our characteristic sweet/savoury/spicy blend of Cinsault, Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon. Tastings from the vats in the winter of 2013, revealed elegance and roundness with a spice-dominant palate – liquorice, clove, cinnamon with a warm coulis of red fruits. There are raspberries and blueberries on the palate, this is an elegant vintage, integrated and balanced with fine tannin. No sense of Cabernet Sauvignon here, a more Cinsault dominated vintage with softer red fruits.
Marvellously warm Mediterranean fruits on the nose, would be autumnal but for their vigorous presence, as rich and robust as expected on the palate, almost the essence of Lebanon in the glass with rich spice and cooling breezes, the dry herby fruit flows with energy over the palate before giving way to a finish that confirms the structure, fruit and tannins blending in exuberantly with intriguing hints of much more to come in the next decade - Steven Spurrier, January 2020
...one of the best young Musars we have tasted. Already drinkable for its richness and sweet fruit, but don't underestimate its ability age: this has 3 decades of development ahead of it – Richard Ballantyne MW, April 2020
Wine Description
The Story
The red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault. Serge Hochar, who has been involved with the property since 1959, states that the Cabernet Sauvignon provides "the bones and the skeleton to the wine, the Carignan the flesh and muscle and the Cinsault the silky smooth finesse".
Musar wines are unique in that Hochar blends the varietals only after they have spent three years in barrels and then waits a further four years before releasing the end result. This gives time for each variety to unfold its own character. The wines are extremely long-lived, with the best examples lasting for 20-30 years.
Wine Information
The 2013 harvest at Chateau Musar could be summarised in one word – elegance.
Rain and snowfall during the winter of 2012/13 was higher than in previous years, a welcome change after many years of poor rainfall. April was cooler than usual and in May, the vineyards were exceptionally green due to the combination of the winter and spring weather. Flowering was successful and yields were healthy but we experienced a week of intense heat in late August which resulted in high sugar contents of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan – the only red variety that did not react to the climatic changes was the Cinsault which was harvested last on the 27th September.
