Chateau Musar Rouge 2004

Name: Chateau Musar Rouge 2004
Brand: Southern [SOU]
SKU: SF-1-SOU--033026-10
Price: 149.99 USD
Availability: InStock

$149⁹⁹

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Robert Parker

91 points

"The 2004 Chateau Musar is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault. This is a rather civilized, laid back Musar. The complicated aging process is best described by the winery: “The wines spent nine months in cement vats and then a year in French Nevers oak barrels and the final blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan rested for another nine months in vats before being bottled?“ The winery describes this as a once-in-a-decade vintage where a heat wave caused notable increases in sugar content in a short time. I sometimes find that is a dangerous description of vineyard conditions with many risks for a winery, but it seems to have turned out well. If you’re comparing, it adds two layers of depth to the 2007 Hochar, although it is quite elegant and graceful in its own right. Most importantly, it has more of an obvious backbone even though it is late-released. Its balance, combining the nice fruit, elegant mid-palate, persistent finish and backbone, gives it a tightly wound, precise and focused demeanor. The tannins are not completely integrated, but not overly hard. They provided some welcome grip and vibrancy and never overwhelmed the wine. In the long run, they should serve this wine in good stead. Overall, it is an exceptionally graceful, somewhat modern and restrained Musar, bright, with that silky texture I saw in the Hochar reviewed this issue, while adding those layers of concentration. The cherry on top is the intensity of fruit flavor – bursts of delicious and juicy fruit on the finish, admittedly nuanced by some of the gamey notes I see here so often. Call it raspberry flavored, though, because the fruit is delicious. The gamey notes were in fact moderate and, at least for my taste, not an issue. As this rather subtle Musar aired out, I liked it more and more. I’ve had Musars that were bigger, burlier, more rustic and more astringent. Here, the subtle start was unremarkable, but it gathered steam, showed remarkable finesse and then won me over." —Mark Squires

Decanter

91 points

"A beautiful development of mature red cherries, plums and sweet spice, showing more concentration than the average Musar, but it is still restrained. The weighty palate is moreish, showing the richness of fruit with a tight structure of tannins. Overall it's a more robust style, yet seductive and refined too."

Wine Enthusiast

88 points

"Enticing whiffs of spice, dried herb and ripe, briary berries emerge from this rich, structured wine. The fruit on the palate is lavish, almost pulpy, but it's framed by lush tannins and brisk acidity. The finish is herbal and bracing."

More about Chateau Musar

It seems everyone has a Musar story. Whether you’re a collector of the classics or you came to wine by way of hip, offbeat regions, chances are you’ve had a moment of realization and awakening over a bottle of Musar opened at exactly the right moment in its long, extraordinary life. I’ve noticed winemakers across the world love to pop aged Musar bottles with friends, too; for the people dedicating their lives to the pursuit of ageworthiness, these wines are a North Star.

Simply put, these beloved wines from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley have enchanted wine lovers for generations and singlehandedly put Lebanon, an ancient-world winemaking heritage site, on the modern wine map.

Founded by a 20-year-old Gaston Hochar in 1930, Chateau Musar was the inspired culmination of both Lebanon’s 6,000-year winemaking tradition and Hochar's travels in Bordeaux. Chateau Musar Rouge is a varying blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault from bush vines (current average age is 40 years) on gravelly soils over limestone. The Chateau Musar Blanc is a blend of ancient indigenous grape varieties Obaideh and Merwah. The Obaideh grows on mountain foothills and stony, chalky soils, with the Merwah planted on calcareous gravel on Mount Lebanon's seaward side. Yields are a miniscule 10 to 20 hectolitrers per hectare.

These wines created a new category all their own, and their capacity to age spoke for itself: over the years Musar has proven that whether red or white, these wines will develop and improve for decades. (How many wineries have—and, quite credibly, need—a guide to opening bottles over 15 years old on their website and YouTube channel?)

This world-renowned affinity for beautifully matured bottles is especially impressive as we approach an incredible milestone: this year marks 95 years of Musar, and by the time the current releases start to hit their drinking window, we’ll be toasting the winery's centennial.