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Chateau Musar Blanc 1997 Review – A Stellar Old White

We often cite Chateau Musar as one of those wineries that got us into wine in the first place. We first tried them at Wine Bar George at Disney Springs (the '98 red) and had a revelatory moment about what wine truly could be like.

Ever since, we've been on the hunt for Chateau Musar bottles, and particularly old Chateau Musar bottles to enjoy at home.

So when we found a cache of old bottles at the Party Source in Newport, Kentucky, we knew we had to pick up a few, and one bottle was a Chateau Musar Blanc dating back to 1997.

A 26-year-old white wine, made with rare grapes from Lebanon (Obaideh and Merwah- likely ancestors of Chardonnay and Semillon), stored at a facility we know and trust? You know we had to open that one right away.

We always love a red wine that we can sit around and discuss for quite some time, and the Gaglioppo grape from southern Italy makes for one such wine.

Librandi's Duca Sanfelice Ciro DOC Reserva certainly was an interesting one, and if you are a fan of Sangiovese, this grape (which is said to be a cross between that and another, unidentified grape) may be for you!

It is not terribly common to find a rose made from popular red grapes from the Douro Valley like Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, but Quinta do Tedo did just that with their rose blend.

This one hits on all the notes we love in a good rose, with a nice balance between fruit and floral notes all around. Not bad at all for its reasonable price point!

Kerner is an interesting white grape that was bred in 1929 and is a crossing between Riesling and Trollinger. Grown in cooler climates, this one is often found in Germany, Austira, Switzerland, and northern Italy- the latter where we found Abbazia di Novacella's Kerner from Alto Adige.

For those who like a white wine with light phenolic textures, this is one to seek out!

We always love finding varietal bottles of grapes we've only ever had as blends, and Pfeffingen's Scheurebe from Germany is one such bottle.

This one blew us away with its complexity and rich, waxy texture so much so that we wonder why this grape is not more popular to begin with!

When we visited Piedmont wineries, our primary goal was to try as many Barolos as we could. But because Piedmont is home to so many wonderful grapes, we were fortunate enough to try several other varieties that we fell in love with.

One such grape was the more approachable Barbera, and E. Pira & Fligli's Barbera d'Alba Superiore is one we just had to bring home with us.

The intensity of this one is hard to beat!

Quinta do Portal was one of our favorite Douro Valley wineries that we got to visit during our trip to Portugal, and naturally many of their bottles made its way home to us when the trip ended.

One such bottle was Quinta do Portal's 20 year tawny port, a lovely bottle that hit all the notes we love in a tawny with strong chocolate covered cherry flavors.

We really do love this one!

We are big fans of Champagne Dumenil, and in the past have tried gems like their Dumenil 1999 and Dumenil Les Pecherines Cuvee which we adore.

Another bottle from this producer we finally got the chance to enjoy is their Reserve NV wine, Dumenil Reserve 22 edition, and while perhaps not as intense as the previous two bottles (which are on the higher end of their portfolio), it is still a gem for those looking for a bottle at a slightly lower price point!

When we visited California to check out Napa and Sonoma wineries, one of the more interesting spots we stopped at was Anarchist Wine Co.

As its name suggests, this winery is doing some rather unique things with popular California grapes as well as unique blends of lesser-grown varietals for the region.

The Skeptic is one such bottle which is an orange, skin-fermented wine of Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Viognier. Unusual for the region to begin with, with the extra depth and complexity that an orange wine provides.

We had picked up a bottle of the 2018 vintage when visiting the winery and promptly forgot about it until it was five years old, when it tasted absolutely beautiful.

Note: The makeup of The Skeptic has seemed to change in recent bottlings. At the time of this review, the 2022 vintage was 100% Gewurztraminer. As such, future bottles may have different characteristics than what is included in this review.

Although I generally found my WSET Diploma D3 tasting exam to be, in a word, brutal, there were some silver linings to be found. In particular, the 12 wine lineup included some fantastic examples of wines found all over the world.

One such bottle we were fortunate enough to taste blind was an aged Pomerol- a Merlot heavy red blend from the right bank of Bordeaux known for making some of the finest wines in the world.

Not only was that the first Pomerol I had ever tried, it was also exceptional. So much so that the day after the wines were announced, I stopped at a wine store, purchased a bottle of Chateau La Rose du Temple Pomerol, and brought it home to enjoy- hoping it'd be anywhere as delightful as the bottle I enjoyed on my exam.

It absolutely was.

Chateau Musar Blanc 1997 Review – A Stellar Old White

Librandi Duca Sanfelice Reserva 2019 Review – Nuanced Red

Quinta do Tedo Rose 2020 Review – A Flavorful Douro Rose

Abbazia di Novacella Kerner 2021 Review – Textural White

Pfeffingen Dry Scheurebe 2020 Review – Waxy and Delicious

E. Pira & Figli Barbera d’Alba Superiore 2021 Review

Quinta do Portal 20 Year Tawny Review – Chocolate Cherry

Dumenil Reserve 22 Review – A Well Balanced Champagne

Anarchist Wine Co The Skeptic 2018 Review – Nice With Age

Chateau La Rose Du Temple Pomerol 2015 Review – Intense Flavor