Château Musar Rouge 2001

Château Musar 2001 13,5% abv; 29,90€

Another warm year at Musar - the fourth in a row with high temperatures and little rain which caused the vines to tire. After an exceptionally hot July and August the harvest began already on the 3rd of September - maybe the earliest ever at Musar? Apparently Cinsault suffered the most so this is a year marked by Cabernet and Carignan. The scent is, indeed, all about the sun: a little bit dried and Porty aroma, almost jammy in its sweetness, but with the Cabernet lift more noticeable than in most years. Normally I find that the VA (which doesn't really bother me) and high acidity keep the wonderfully sweet Biq'aa fruit in check, but this year the sweetness pokes through - especially the finish isn't so much carried by its usual wonderful acidity, but more by the sheer power of the sweet fruit! This is obviously nothing else but Musar, but this bottle, my first of this vintage, was only a good Musar, not a great one.