Cabernet Sauvignon | Postcards From Here and There

Chateau Musar Tasting

Chateau Musar is perhaps the best known of the Lebanese wine producers. Founded in 1930 by Gaston Hochar it was under the stewardship of his son Serge that the wines gained an international reputation.

Vineyards are located in the fertile Bekaa Valley and harvested grapes are then transported by lorry to the winery which is located in Ghazir which is about 25Km from the city of Beirut. The red wine is a blend of three varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan and Cinsault, usually in equal proportions. All fruit is handpicked and fermentation takes place in cement vats using wild yeasts. Once fermentation is complete the wine is placed in French oak barrels for 12 months followed by a further period in the vats. Wines are blended and bottled, without fining or filtration, after three years but are then retained in the winery for at least four more years before release onto the market. This means that Chateau Musar is at least seven years old when it appears on the shelves.

Chateau Musar Red

Chateau Musar 2003 – garnet in colour which fades to tawny at the rim. Aromas of cherry, red fruits and spice. The palate has a touch of sweetness, it is light with red fruits, dried herbs, peppery spice, chocolate and a nice savoury sweetness. The finish is long and peppery. Very approachable and drinking very well.

Chateau Musar 2002 – garnet in colour, slightly deeper and dusky in appearance. Nose not as approachable as 2003, quite closed. Lots of red fruits and bags of peppery spice with some cola and a finish of medicinal cherry.

Chateau Musar 2001 – Similar in appearance to 2003. Blaqckfruits, cherry, farmy and dried mushroom. The palate is medium bodied, cherry, raspberry, cola and peppery spice but all is quite restrained. Tannins are dry.

Chateau Musar 2000 – mid garnet with a tawny rim. The nose is subtle and complex mix of dried fruits, cherry, tobacco and spice. The palate is rich, full bodied dark fruit with lovely balance. A savoury/meaty finish that lingers.

Chateau Musar 1999 – garnet/tawny in appearance. Nose is savoury, meaty, farmy, smokey with dark cherry. Palate has lots of dark cherry, spice, peppery fruit with touch of violets. The finish is long and lingering. A wine of depth and complexity that continues to develop in the glass.

Chateau Musar 1998 – light garnet with tawny rim. The nose is lighter but still has real character with cherry and savoury spice. Palate is light and the fruit is drying a little but this has real elegance.

Chateau Musar 1996 – Tawny, clear and bright. Nose is not very expressive. Palate is light and full of mature fruit flavours, cherry, fig, raisins, coffee. Dry but with real character.

Chateau Musar White

The white wine is a blend of two indigenous Lebanese grape varieties, Obaideh and Merwah. The vineyards are old planted between 50 and 90 years ago. Obaideh is a variety which is high in sugar and low in acidity and believed to be related to Chardonnay. Merwah is a variety thought to be related to Semillon which can produce distinctive wines but may lack in acidity at times. The two varieties blended together produce a distinctive and age worthy wine.

At Musar they are fermented and partly aged in oak barrels before finishing off in stainless steel. Blending is usually in the proportion 2/3 Obaideh to 1/3 Merwah.

Chateau Musar 2009 – yellow/gold in appearance, clear and bright. The nose is a little closed but there is lemon citrus, tropical fruits and a touch of nuttiness. The palate has a silky, creamy texture and wonderful balance. Tropical fruits abound, banana, pineapple together with honey and marzipan. The finish is as wonderful as it is long.

Chateau Musar 1992 – golden in appearance with great intensity. Nose is closed and not very expressive at all. The palate is dry and sherry like with a slight buttery texture. Improves in glass to give some stone fruits and a touch of honey.

Chateau Musar 1991 – Deep gold in appearance. The nose is subtle with smokey honeycomb. The palate is pineapple, peach, apricot, marzipan and is complex. As it opens out there are flavours of lemon and quince emerging. There is a dryness and a lingering lemon/honeycomb finish.

Canon La Gaffelière Visit

Facts

Chateau Canon La Gaffelière is located at the foot of the slope south of the medieval town of Saint Émilion.

It has been owned by the Von Neipperg family since 1971.

At 19.5 hectares it is planted to 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Production of Canon La Gaffelière is around 7500 cases.

In 1988 they began to move towards organic practices and in 2014 they received full organic certification.

They have been propagating their own vines to maintain the genetic diversity of their vineyards rather than buying genetically identical clones.

Fermentation largely takes place in wooden vats purchased in 1997.

The property sources barrels of French oak from 8 different coopers. Toasting is medium and medium plus. Between 40% and 60% is used depending on the vintage

It was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé B in the 2012 reclassification of the wines of Saint Émilion.

The Von Neipperg family also own the 4.5 hectare La Mondotte which is situated east of Saint Émilion. The first vintage under their ownership was 1996. Certified organic since 2014, production here is much smaller at 650 to 1000 cases

Tasting

Chateau D’Aiguilhe. Castillon -Cotes de Bordeaux. 2014. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 30% new French oak. Grapes are from a 25 year old vineyard purchased in 1998. There are plums, black fruits and spice here in a nicely balanced wine with a nice finish. An excellent example and very drinkable.

Clos del’Oratoire. Saint Émilion Grand Cru. 2013. 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 40% new French oak. Plums and red fruits with a slight floral note. Medium bodied, light spice and dry tannin. A delicate hint of coffee on the finish.

Chateau Canon La Gaffelière. Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion. 2011. 60% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 80% new French oak. Black and red fruit, savoury spice and a touch of floral perfume. the finish is long and savoury. Very Good.

La Mondotte. Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion 2006. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Great depth and complexity of aromas, black fruits chocolate and spices. Smooth and rounded with lovely black fruits, black olive and a touch of caramel. The finish is long and lingering. This is a fantastic wine and drinking well now.

Chateau Dauzac Visit

Chateau Dauzac is a fifth growth in the Margaux appellation of the Medoc, some 16 miles from Bordeaux and close to the village of Labarde. Dauzac is the most southerly property in Margaux and the closest to the river Garonne thus creating a unique microclimate for growing grapes.

The name Dauzac can be traced back to 1545 and wine has been made here for centuries resulting in the property being classed as a fifth growth in the 1855 classification. In 1988 it was purchased by the insurance company MAIF. In 1991 it was leased to the Lurton family who managed the estate until 2013. Since the purchase by MAIF a series of improvements have been undertaken with started with renovation of the chateau and the restoration and replanting of some of the vineyards. A new vat room was built in 2014.

The estate is is 120 hectares in size, of this 49 hectares is planted with vines. This includes 45 hectares in the Margaux appellation and 4 in Haut Medoc. The remainder of the state is planted to create a biodiversity reserve. Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on the gravel/sandy soils and Merlot on the gravel/clay. The averase age of vines is 35 years with the oldest vines in the region 60 to 80 years. Vineyard management is increasingly using organic/biodynamic practices.

Harvest of the merlot grapes for the 2018 began on September 17th and was completed in good weather. Harvesting of the cabernet was underway at the time of our visit and was expected to be completed by around October 10th weather permitting. All fruit is handpicked using a team of 70 pickers. On arrival in the vat room the fruit is sorted before and after desteming. The aim is to get fruit from vine to vat in one hour or less.

Vineyard plots are linefeed separately, the premier wine in wooden vats and the second and third wines in stainless steel. Fermentation is with cultured wild yeasts and is usually completed in 10-15 days. This is followed by 3-4 week maceration before separation from the skins and then natural malolactic fermentation.

See through panels in the oak vats enables the winemaker to see what is actually happening as fermentation progresses.

Ageing is in French oak barrels which are sourced from seven different coopers. A light to medium toasting is used on the barrels. Chateau Dauzac is usually aged for 16-18 months in 70% new oak while other wines receive about 12 months barrel ageing in 20% new oak.

Labastide Dauzac. Margaux. 2015

58% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged for 15 months. A youthful red/purple in appearance. Very fruit driven, raspberry, strawberry and some cherry. Has a nice spice finish. An easy drinking style of wine.

Aurore de Dauzac. Margaux. 2014

61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and aged for 12 months. The second wine of Chateau Dauzac. Aromas of blackcurrant, cherry and some nice savoury character. Palate is medium with nice freshness. Very good.

Chateau Dauzac. Margaux. 2014

68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot. Aged for 16 months in 68% new French oak. Deep colour with blackcurrant, cherry and plum. The palate shows lovely balance and complexity. Round and soft with some nice savoury liquorice. Excellent.