Pinotman /// Andreas

9.0

Plenty of tannins left. 25bucks. Those were the days! 14%| Quite classic. Browne tinge. Needs at least 2-3 hours of air. Quite harsh and astringent. Roses, earthy and dusty, very dry. Hint of truffles. - Not super exciting at first (15min) so wait. Will last another 10 years - but i do worry about the fruit component if you need space in your cellar - i would suggest drink up. I will. Some folks tend to hype these wines i don’t - after all this is their most basic version with a large production volume. Total volume is 500,000 bottles a year at this cooperative. My guess they to make a lot of this one. — 19 days ago

Joe DAscoli

9.4

Decanted for about 2 hours. Broken cork that seemed dried out and I couldn’t get out of the bottle. Filtered the wine into the decanter.

Wine had the classic Valdicava aromas that are unique and alluring. Almost like a Sangiovese / Cabernet blend and mix of dark fruit, cocoa. I can’t describe as much as I can always recognize it.

Wine was very good. Not the best expression of this wine but solid.

— a month ago

Vino Joe

9.5

Excellent excellent. Decanted for two hours before being consumed and then enjoyed over next 3+. Weighty and very heady. Dark rich fruit aged but not dusty. I feel this wine is in the zone. — a month ago

Vino Joe

9.6

Elite wine experience. Decanted and poured in two halves. Needed a short while for footing but was ready to party after 20-30 minutes. The bouquet was phenomenal and had a very complex mix of earth and fruit. Some figs. Some cedar? And it was all amazing. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

8.9

1989 vintage. From magnum. Nice fill and cork better than expected. Not decanted and first tasted after 7 (seven!!) hours after opening. Talk about task saturation...Light body with some brickish notes but back end concentration along with dark cherry and plum notes fronting earth + tobacco histories. Good length of finish. Drink whatever format ya got cuz it's definitely time unless you like playing wine pathologist and reconstituting tissue/flavors to flesh out what once was and rebuilding around the existing skeleton. Eminently doable as long as you're intimately familiar with the producer/wine, have previously tasted the wine and have really good notes/memory. 05.11.25. — a month ago

Jay Kline

9.4

It is customary for the wines of Chateau Musar to be released seven years post-vintage. However, in 2013, the decision was made to hold the vintage back. 2006 was unusual for two reasons. The first, were the cool climatic conditions in the Bekaa; the likes of which had not been seen since the 1950’s. There was a two-week period in winter where the valley was blanketed in snow and mild temperatures remained in effect throughout much of the growing season. The second was much more tragic: 2006 was a war year in Lebanon. On July 12th of that year, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a bloody conflict that lasted (officially) a little over a month. Sadly, thousands of lives were lost. In 2017, eleven years after harvest, the 2006 vintage was deemed ready for release.

Poured into a decanter about 90min prior to service. The 2006 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of black cherry, blackberries, black currants, tobacco, horse blanket, leather, some red and purple flowers, dried herbs and Eastern spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and absolutely delicious. A triumph and perfect with lamb chops. Drink now through 2046+.

How Chateau Musar endures to make wines from the Bekaa remain one of the great examples of human grit and determination available in the world of wine. Frankly, it’s a minor miracle this vintage ever made it to the winery. — 20 days ago

Andrew Cullimore

9.0

Medium ruby garnet quite narrow terracotta rim . Quite herbal , dried strawberry and red cherry nose , touch of iodine , sous bois , dried mushroom notes , discreet roasted coffee note after a while. Quite pretty red fruits on the palate with good freshness , strawberry , earthy cherry and a marine , iodine like note , sous bois underneath . Quite elegant and well balanced acidity with fine tannic grip . Good red fruit , earthy tinged finish . This is showing more advanced than the 2001 Reserva , and would like to try another bottle of this , as I suspect this half is a bit below par. On the basis of this bottle drink now and over the next 5 or so years . — 2 days ago

Stuart Dershaw

9.0

Started out shaky but rose to an eclectic dinner. Wine after decanting had the right tannins and a dried cherry linger that worked well on my palate. — 14 days ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Double-decanted earlier in the day; enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1995 pours a perfect garnet color with a near opaque core; medium+ viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe cassis, black cherry, mixed flowers, tobacco, earth, menthol and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium, integrated tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long. Classy. This is an elegant expression of Bordeaux and showed so well tonight. Thanks Andy! Drink now through 2040. — a month ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.5

2005 vintage. From magnum. Tasted after 3 hours open. Light-medium body. Drought earth. Coffee grounds. Espresso crema. Dark plum skins. Drinking excellent but like a Napa cab a decade older. And from a magnum!?!? Was expecting a bit more of a delicate fruit presence. Oh well. It was a full moon. 04.11.25. — 2 months ago