Serge Valentin has been one of the few truly independent voices in the Scotch whisky world since the early 2000s. For two decades and counting, the Alsace-native has published his tasting notes and scores to an astoundingly large and loyal audience with his characteristically good humour and impartiality in what can be a deafening echo chamber.   Despite being one of the most well-respected authorities in the industry, Valentin has always written about whisky in his spare time, very much considering it a pastime that he dabbles in for fun. This is somewhat of a surprise, given the many people who part with thousands of pounds based on his views alone.  “Contrary to what many believe, I’ve never been a pro and have never actually worked in whisky,” the jaunty Valentin is quick to tell me. “It is all a kind of super-hobby to me and if you ever see me doing gigs, for example at whisky festivals, it is always for free, for fun and for friends.”   Valentin’s “proper work”, as he calls it, is in advertising and marketing, where he owns two agencies which employ around 2,000 people. These agencies, he says glibly, are “supposed to pay for my whiskies…luckily, they do”. It was a very different landscape when Valentin started writing about Scotch in 2002. Single malts had been marketed for 30-plus years but there wasn’t the seemingly insatiable demand and record-breaking prices that are commonplace today. It all began when Valentin, armed with bottles of his favourite Old Clynelish and Brora, sat down and shared his musings on his aptly named website WhiskyFun. This wasn’t a vanity project or a vehicle for freebies, this was a man writing about the whiskies he loved, just because he wanted to. From humble beginnings, WhiskyFun has become one of the most well-respected hubs for commentary on Scotch. Valentin follows a 100-point scoring system, like some of the great critics in the world of wine. For Valentin, however, 80/100 is a good score. His methodology is largely unchanged. He will spend an average of 30 minutes tasting a whisky (he does, on occasion, score rums and other spirits) – this can increase up to an hour if it’s a “good one” and take nearer 10 minutes if it is a “bad one”. He always compares several similar spirits, almost always from the same distillery, and never scores “out of the blue”. He tastes “alone, using the same parameters” (place, time of day, glassware, water etc.) and always writes as he tries, and then publishes once a day.  His write-ups are always short, honest, and unmistakably him. After all these years, it’s dumbfounding that he has the time or inclination to produce the near-constant stream of reviews that appear on his website.    It’s fascinating to see which liquids he scores – and, sometimes more intriguingly, the ones he doesn’t. “The choices rather depend on what I get and what I source, but my sample library is much larger than my tasting capacity,” he explains.   This all started as a passion project for Valentin and it’s abundantly clear that that fire burns just as bright today. He never takes himself too seriously and is evidently ill at ease with any comparison between himself and the greatly respected critics in the world of wine.    This is, in part, because the role of a critic in spirits is nowhere near as established as it is in wine. There are leading voices in the Scotch whisky world who undoubtedly carry considerable clout, but they aren’t critics in the traditional sense. While they might be prolific in their output and have seemingly healthy book retainers, they rarely score spirits and if they do, their tasting notes will be almost entirely positive (often because they are in a producer’s employ). The closest the spirits world has to a Robert Parker or Jancis Robinson MW is probably Valentin – although, he wouldn’t agree.   “I would say the roles are more and more the same in wine and spirits,” Valentin says, “even if there are fewer actual ‘critics’ in spirits. But it is coming in whisky.”  Valentin does feel there is a need for scores in collectable spirits, as – like wine – there isn’t always the opportunity for people to try before they buy. But the issue is not black and white, as is true of many things Valentin and I discuss.   “I see that scores [in whisky] become more like stock market recommendations these days,” he says.“I’m not too happy about that but that wouldn’t be the case if spirits, especially whisky, had remained a reasonably priced commodity,” he says, before adding: “But the cardinal sins are what they are.” It’s clear whisky drinkers respect Valentin’s voice, as they flock to his site in droves. What’s less clear, however – as an outsider looking in – is how producers feel about Valentin’s refusal to kowtow and sugar-coat his reviews.  “Producers have never quite known how to deal with independent voices,” he explains. “In general, they prefer influencers that they can pay and control, even if their audiences are smaller and less ‘on target’,” he adds, “for which I can’t blame them. Fortunately,” he continues, “not all distillers are the same. Some corporations are smarter than others and that often depends on the people within.”   When asked why he thinks people return to his site, which doesn’t have any of the bells and whistles you might expect from an ad man and is as no-frills today as it was two decades ago, Valentin says, as self-deprecatingly as ever: “I’m not really aware of everything that’s happening in the reviewing landscape, I have to say. If indeed people keep coming back to my assessment, that’s partly, I believe, because I started early and simply because they trust me. Trust is number one.”   In many ways, Valentin’s website is a collection. It’s a receptacle for his innermost thoughts and feelings about the things that matter most to him. Valentin has always been collector at heart. With an interest in stamps from childhood, he then graduated onto watches, wine and then whisky. The father of three has a broad and eclectic range of interests, including music (“all kinds”), advertising, motorcycling, wine, watches, food and travel which he has nurtured and indulged. Throughout the years, Valentin has had a front-row seat to the evolutions within these industries and the so-called art of collecting.   “Old-school collectors used to buy what they liked, never what was meant to see its value rise,” he says. “In the old days, you had to travel, to make phone calls, to go to festivals etc. Today,” he says somewhat ruefully, “you can buy anything, as long as you’ve got the money.” Valentin was ahead of the curve when he made the choice many years ago to buy as many different Old Clynelish and Brora single malts as he could, simply because they were his favourites. At the time, and up until 2005 to 2010, all whiskies – even the rarest – remained relatively cheap. After 2010, it was silly season and whiskies you could previously source were nigh on impossible to find or prohibitively expensive for some.  Valentin’s favourite whiskies have become some of the most desirable on the secondary market. Old Clynelish, produced before the distillery was rechristened Brora, have gained a huge following globally as people were charmed by the story and the characterful liquid the two distilleries produced. Now Brora is set to be re-opened, these single malts will only become more valuable. While his collection is no-doubt impressive – exact bottlings are not disclosed – there are some unicorns which still elude Valentin.   “Rather bizarrely and inexplicably, I prefer fatter spirits and fresher wines,” Valentin says, “in both cases with as little straight oak influence as possible. So, fat distillates, such as some coastal malts, some Jamaican rums etc. In wine, that would be the bright whites, Jura, Savoie, Rueda, Pacherenc, Irouleguy, Alsace, Wachau and Andalusia.”    “I know oak is crucial,” he adds, “you just shouldn’t feel it as such, according to my personal taste. But I insist, that’s personal.” Oak is a topic Valentin returns to several times. He feels it is the low-hanging fruit when it comes to innovation in the Scotch whisky industry.   “Sure, there are a few innovations around the casks,” he says, “but all makers use more or less the same.” The woods used are usually more active, which allows producers to sell much younger whisky for a good price while widening the ranges at the same time, he says.   “I’m not saying that’s bad,” he quickly adds, “but not many people are talking about the distilling regimes, the stills and so on, which was the number one topic 20 years ago.” He continues: “It is now all about wood. But, when we talk about wood that includes their flavouring with other spirits, wines, or even whiskies from other distilleries such as some peated ones, which is the latest trend, to peat single malts by doing some in-cask blending rather than bother with brewing and distilling some peated malt. “So, cutting corners for sure but on the other hand, I believe the average quality has risen pretty sharply. So, all remains good and well…”  This seems to be Valentin’s baseline. The whisky world might have changed but he believes it is the same at its core. There is an increase in branding and marketing (which is likely a source of joy and consternation for an ad man), there are more malts, and for the past five or six years, more distilleries from almost all countries.   “I’m not bored yet,” he says in his frank way, “and in general, whisky has got better on average, even if there are fewer utter glories and fewer total duds.”  If a man with Valentin’s reputation of no-holds-barred honesty is broadly happy, then we probably all should be too.   Browse all Scotch whisky  or  read more Editorial 

Serge Valentin is one of the most well-respected people in the fine spirits world. For decades, whisky enthusiasts have parted with thousands of pounds based on his reviews alone. Holly Motion asks him how it all began – and how the industry has evolved since he started writing about whisky for fun

Serge Valentin on the art of collecting, the role of the critic, and the changes he’s witnessed in the Scotch whisky industry over the past 20 years

Serge Valentin – the Joker in the pack

Serge Valentin: the Joker in the pack

The 2020 vintage is exceptional. Not only was it the earliest harvest on record, but the entire growing season – from start to finish – took place almost a month earlier than is typical. This meant véraison (the all-important ripening period of the grapes, when they change colour) took place in July and August as opposed to August and September.  This is significant because the angle of the sun is different, higher and therefore stronger, and the daytime hours longer, marking a fundamental shift in the annual lifecycle of the vine. It resulted in a contracted growing season and for many, lay the foundations of future vintages in a warming climate. For practically all producers, it was the earliest harvest ever. For many producers, all the grapes were in by the end of August. For the historic Bouchard estate, who have detailed records stretching back to 1731, 2020 was the earliest harvest in 300 years. Fortunately, this shift forward in the growing season didn’t seem to negatively impact quality – in fact, for many, it proved to be hugely beneficial. The Chardonnay, in particular, was largely unaffected by the shift both in terms of quantity and quality.  Pinot Noir suffered more with the drought, resulting in a drop in yield – quite drastically in some cases – but the quality, like the growing season, was exceptional, and for all the right reasons – the grapes reached full maturity, retaining lots of acidity, while also remaining very Burgundian in style. An early, hot spring kicked off the season, with the vines budding around a month earlier than normal (circa 14th April). Bouchard’s Frédéric Weber emphasised just how early and rare this is. The risk with an early season is frost: fortunately, unlike in 2021, the temperature didn’t drop too much, and there was little damage between budding and flowering. The warm weather continued and a mini heatwave in May affected some. At Domaine des Lambrays, Jacques Devauges blamed the heat for the coulure (poor fruit set, resulting in not all the flowers forming into grapes), which led to a significant drop in yields. Hudelot-Noëllat’s yields were also impacted by coulure and millerandage (resulting in fewer berries per bunch).  Pierre Duroché suffered similar issues in Gevrey-Chambertin, but for him this was not unusual. “My vines are so old, not every flower results in grapes but I am happy with this as it means there is no grape compaction on the bunches – keeping fruit intact,” he explained. With little frost or hail, the growing season is marked only by the lack of significant rain. Most of the Côte d’Or saw little to no rainfall during a warm but not excessively hot summer season. The dry conditions meant mildew and oidium were kept at bay, and there was very little disease pressure.  For many, the drought and heat saw the vines shut down for a period of time. Some believe this self-preservation effort is why the acidity levels remain high and the alcohol levels moderate, as the vines pressed pause on ripening, avoiding excessive sugar formation in the berries. Most of the wines are a full percentage less in alcohol compared to 2019, with reds averaging 13.5% and whites 13.2% at Bouchard, and acidity levels in the whites as high as the much-praised 2014s. For those whose vines could cope with the drought (and this varied drastically from vineyard to vineyard, rootstock to rootstock), the growing season was easy to manage – particularly when compared to the horror show of 2021, from which vignerons are still recovering. The drought in 2020, however, is significant for the yields of Pinot Noir. On the poorest soils – typically the most exposed Grand Cru sites, with minimal topsoil and therefore poor water retaining properties – the vines suffered excessive hydric stress.  On the Grands Crus of Clos Saint-Denis and Clos de la Roche, Domaine Georges Lignier’s Benoît Stehly watched helplessly as the leaves dropped off the vine mid-August, allowing the sunshine to burn his grapes. His production was almost halved on these exposed sites. (In fact, he produced more wine in 2021 than 2020.) Lignier seems to have suffered more than most producers we visited, although, on average, Pinot Noir yields were down by up to 40%. The northern wind in August was another significant factor, dehydrating the grapes, producing high levels of fruit and acid concentration, as well as thicker skins. The whites generally coped much better with the drought. Chardonnay clearly adapted to a drier season more easily, with yields for many at full capacity and the quality outstanding. For Guillaume Boillot at Henri Boillot, “C’est le top.” He describes the finished wines as “hyper-dynamic and balanced”. It was Boillot’s earliest harvest since 2003, beginning on 19th August, with all the grapes picked in nine days. They were not the only domaine to point out the similarities to 2014 when it comes to the freshness in the whites. While most picked the white wines in the third week of August, picking dates of the Pinot seemed to vary greatly and not only depending on location. The drought saw particular sites cope much better than others within the same appellation. More generally though, the Côte de Beaune Pinots were picked in August, whereas in the Côte de Nuits, vignerons either opted to pick before the rain in late August, or after.  Maxime Cheurlin at Domaine Georges Noëllat waited until the rains arrived on 28th August and picked as late as September 8th. Lamarche, Hudelot-Noëllat and Gros Frère & Soeur also waited. For Cheurlin, the rain helped completely change the phenolic character of the Pinot Noir – resulting in the finest wines he has ever made.  Like Cheurlin, Nicole Lamarche, in these drier vintages, has come to see the rain as her friend. With moderate alcohol levels from all but a few producers, it certainly wasn’t racing sugar levels that forced an early harvest for the Pinot. The 2020 vintage could mark the start of a more permanent shift in Burgundy’s growing season. If that’s the case, the results, for now, are encouraging. As Jacques Devauges of Domaine des Lambrays said at the end of our tasting: “If 2020 is the future of Burgundy, where do I sign?” Browse all available Burgundy

No two growing seasons are alike – but the 2020 vintage in Burgundy was particularly unusual (and also remarkably easy for its vignerons). We delve into the conditions that shaped the year’s wines

Exploring what made the 2020 Burgundy wine vintage so unique

The 2020 Burgundy growing season

Burgundy 2020: the growing season

Many factors come into play when tasting Chateau Musar vintages. Was it a warmer Cabernet year (1999, 2000, 2005)? Was it cooler, making Cinsault more influential in the blend as in 1998? Or was it a Carignan year like 2003? Will grape prominence be less relevant than the dodging of bullets across the Beka’a in a vintage we’re lucky to see the appearance of at all?  The tasting notes that follow shine a light on the vintage, the weather conditions, and the family events that helped shape the wines. There is also an insight into the mindset of the winemaker, Serge Hochar, as he became less influenced by his background in Bordeaux and increasingly confident in the wines emerging from his own terroir in Lebanon. Hochar family wines live for a long time and their flavours linger in the mouth and memory long after the bottle is drained. Some of these wines have been tasted à point, at the peak of perfection, but many have yet to reach this moment, and they are judged on their potential. Even more fascinating, perhaps, are the notes on wines that are perhaps just past their prime, but still delivering fascinating nuances that astound the taster – some of these wines elicit the most evocative tasting notes of all. For the Hochar family, a new wine, however shapely or pleasing, is always pregnant with promise for the future. Many of the notes below show the best that the wines can be – but they also underline the fact that for each taster Musar’s most sublime moment will be different. Although the Hochar family does not believe in the concept of defining a wine with numbers, ratings have been included to give some guidance.  Jancis Robinson MW, Bartholomew Broadbent and Steven Spurrier award marks out of 20 for each wine. Michael Broadbent prefers a five-star scoring system. All notes were taken in 2018/19 with the exception of Michael Broadbent’s. Chateau Musar: the reds One-third of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan, aged for a year in French Nevers oak. 2013 Chateau Musar  "Dense, deep red, still hints of purple at the core and little age on the rim. Marvellously warm Mediterranean fruits on the nose, autumnal in style but youthful in their rich, robust, vigorous presence. The essence of Lebanon in a glass, rich with spice and cooling breezes, the dry, herby fruit flows with energy over the palate before giving way to a finish that confirms the structure, fruit and tannins blending exuberantly with intriguing hints of much more to come in the next decade." Steven Spurrier, Score: 18/20, Drink: 2020-2040  2009 Chateau Musar  "Mid-crimson. Light, sweet start. For the moment it’s a little simple. Bright, ripe red fruit. Slightly burnt edge. Lots of tannins. Quite dry and youthful on the finish. Much longer bottle age needed. By far the most youthful wine in this vertical tasting." Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 17+++/20, Drink: 2028-2050  "Deep ruby colour but light translucent rim. More primary sweet baked red fruit notes and a lovely bloody, cured meat Rhone character. This is a complex nose – sweet candied blackberry, raspberry, cardamom, tobacco – a very pure nose.  Dense tannins still not fully integrated but will get there and very well balanced with a vibrant line of acidity running through the palate. A real Italian flair to the wine but the tannins are so silky, beautifully handled. Still plenty of life in this wine." FINE+RARE 2008 Chateau Musar  "Heady and beguiling with a gamey note on the nose. Very sweet and young; well balanced on the palate. No hurry at all to drink this youthful ferment. Very tight, dry wine that is so much younger than any other vintage tasted. So much more youthful than a Bordeaux 2008!" Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 17.5+++/20, Drink: 2025-2045 "After blending, [Head Winemaker] Tarek [Sakr] was raving about this vintage. I asked him to add 0.5% of any wine he liked and we’d taste it again in two weeks. An act of faith or la folie? We tasted it again. He raved again; the wine had changed colour and bouquet." Serge Hochar "Dark, blood red. Really powerful nose with tonnes of young, juicy blue and red fruit. Behind this, layers of dried fruit emerge (prunes and raisins) and tobacco, generally a much darker and more brooding profile than the initially youthful nose suggested. Leather and smoked meat, as well as mineral graphite, but also fresh mint and liquorice. Complex and ever-changing in the glass that invites you to keep going back and discovering more. Again, fantastic acidity, plus velvety tannins." FINE+RARE 2003 Chateau Musar  "Mid-garnet. Quite a bit deeper and younger-looking than even the 2001. A little marine influence (oyster shells?) on the somewhat reticent nose. Rather different from many of these Musars. Sweet start and very vigorous and fun. If I had not tasted vintages back to 1961, I might have taken this for a fully mature wine. It already gives masses of pleasure with some milk-chocolate notes and quite a bit of light dry tannin on the end. Excellent drive. Long and dramatically big, but with good freshness on the finish." Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 18.5/20, Drink: 2016-2035 "A vintage with high alcohol and acidity. Rainiest winter in 15 years, then not a drop of rain from April throughout a hot, sunny summer. Heatwave during flowering reduced the harvest by 30%." Tarek Sakr, Head Winemaker "Darker than more recent vintages, gun smoke, spice and hints of leather. Rich darker fruit, riper with dense, sweet mid-palate. Balanced though, with Cinsault contributing acid and vibrancy that is often absent in 2003s. Fruit profile is richer and darker and tannins riper and juicy, perhaps not as refined as the excellent 2008, but still with Musar DNA. Smoked meat and charcoal. Delicacy throughout. Fascinating and delicious." FINE+RARE
 2000 Chateau Musar  "Reasonably mature. Brick-red rim, autumnal faded red bowl. Mouthwatering acidity on the nose that can be smelt a foot away. Lovely aromas of damp autumn forests, decaying leaves and wood combine with a slightly chocolatey sweetness. A little spirit developed over the course of the evening: almost a Drambuie or Grand Marnier character. Slightly sweet on the palate with very long, classic autumnal Musar notes, soft, mature and Old World, braced by that lovely acidity. Still full flavoured and crisp on its long, lingering aftertaste, finishing with notes of liquorice and sherbet." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 18/20   "A Cabernet Sauvignon year. One of my clients called it 'a lioness' of a wine." Serge Hochar "Bright ruby red with the start of some brick around the edges. Sweet fruit, baked strawberries, rosewater and pomegranate. Peppery spice. Some leather and petrichor. With more air, burning embers and deep, meaty fruit and spice. Lovely sweet tannins on entry. Elegant and fresh, but with an enveloping warmth and caressing softness, though it remains both light and structured thanks to the depth of flavour and superb acidity." FINE+RARE  1998 Chateau Musar  "Pale, jewel-bright garnet. Light, spicy, particularly well-integrated nose, already well developed. A sweet start on the palate; the opposite of heavy; a really lovely wine: fresh, sweet, with some very slight mintiness and a dry finish. Very long, and nicely mature: seems just right now. It will go beautifully with food. One of my favourite wines in this collection. Is it the Cinsault I like so much?" Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 18.5/20, Drink: 2012-2030 "Tarek said: 'Let’s bottle at the end of the second year. Let’s try!' We did 20,000 bottles like this, then the rest a year later, as usual. We tasted the wines four years later. Something was missing in the earlier-bottled wines. They had an obvious Chateau Musar character but were not necessarily better. Identity is permanently important. We went back to the original formula." Serge Hochar "Cool year, Cinsault dominated. Cold and rainy until June, with a sunny, dry summer. Harvest began on 9th September." Tarek Sakr, Head Winemaker  "Similar in style to the 1997 but with more fruit concentration, the aromas more earthy and
dried leather, but the lifted perfumed floral tone still dominates on the nose: dried roses, sweet licorice, candied cinnamon – lovely additional set of oak flavours that add aromatic complexity. Lovely texture – tannins are seamless – silky and long – provide structure but are sweet and resolved, backed by vibrant acidity keeping the wine fresh. Fruit is plump, rich, ripe, very much on the red fruit spectrum – raspberry, red cherry. Great acidity. Light fresh tobacco and light leather notes coming through on the finish. Great integration and drinking very well now. Difficult to pick between the '97 and '98 – the '97 is more ethereal – it tastes like quality aged Burgundy! '98 is plusher and more concentrated but less ethereal." FINE+RARE
 1997 Chateau Musar  "Very light in colour with maturity on the rim: salmon ruby. Surprisingly intense and concentrated nose with strong ash and autumnal smells; great acidity, damp leaves and old bonfires. On the palate, very sweet fruit and a long finish that goes through several evolutions (one developing old pomegranate flavours) in the longest aftertaste of any Musar. Full mouthfeel defies the lightness of the wine. Almost chewy in texture. Intense volatile acidity." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 18/20  "We had two harvests – before and after a week of heavy rain – and made a big, big wine. Two years after bottling it changed direction and began to create heavy sediments. It was the biggest surprise in my life. This wine was behaving like a human going through an adolescent crisis. Which way is it heading now? The only thing I know is that I trust my wines. It is already an interesting wine, and starting to taste beautiful." Serge Hochar "Translucent Pinor Noir-esque colour with tremendous clean aromatics – lifted floral notes,
fresh aniseed, scented aromatic tea leaf, red cherry, strawberry, pomegranate, so perfumed. Seamless tannins, silky soft but there is a delicate framework and the fruit concentration provides lovely depth. Fruit remains very fleshy. Very clean considering the age, and lovely refreshing, vibrant acidity, remarkably stable at 24 years of age. Lovely, ethereal quality to this wine, reminds me of a great aged Burgundy with the acid and florality!" FINE+RARE 1979 Chateau Musar  "…misleadingly pale, fully mature; nose like squashed strawberries; sweet, long, delicious." Michael Broadbent "Vibrant red with a hint of mahogany but still red on the rim. Astoundingly young and vigorous with warm red summer fruits and a definite hint of roses on the nose; has the feel of a wine at least 20 years its junior. The sweetness of fruit continues on the palate with a backbone of tannin to firm it up – without losing the old-fashioned ‘burgundian’ richness and just the right level of acidity to refresh the palate for another glass. This must always have been an exceptional wine, as it remains today." Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 18.5/20 1974 Chateau Musar  "Good depth but still light, with a mature-looking, orangey rim. Very vibrant, sweet-fruited nose, alive and drawing attention to itself. Very old, elegant fruit on the palate, with a touch of cheese rind. Extraordinary texture: velvety and syrupy at the same time; deep, with high acidity and a very long finish. Biscuity flavours (‘Playbox’ biscuits: if you are English and of a certain age, you’ll remember licking the sugary coat off those). Although past its prime, it is fascinating, like an old man with many stories to tell. You can imagine the wartime conditions through which this wine has aged, enduring much and remaining strong, until now as it begins to lose its way." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 19/20 "My ’74 I wasn’t happy with. But it developed! In 2000 I tasted it again. Now I think it is nearly ready to drink." Serge Hochar 1970 Chateau Musar  "In 1983, richly coloured; pine needles and vanilla; soft, velvety, well-balanced, yet powerful and plump like Château Petrus. Labelled ‘Réserve Rouge. Grand Cru’, still deep and rich, complete." Michael Broadbent, Score: five stars  "Dark, shaded ruby; just the sort of colour I would expect from a 1970 red Bordeaux. Light, very Cabernet nose. If I were given this blind I would be tempted to head straight for Bordeaux, though it would have to be a comely château such as Palmer perhaps, and a fairly ripe vintage. Perhaps 1961? But then there is probably more sweetness and a bit more exoticism than one would find in a Bordeaux of this evident age... Mouth-filling and again that note of violets, candied this time. A little dusting of tannins on the end. Lovely wine." Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 18/20, Drink: 1985-2022 1964 Chateau Musar  "Mature rim but not for its age: still tons of vibrant life in its red colour. Very little sign of ageing. Nose is very big, more like a mature Châteauneuf-du-Pape or other big, structured Rhône wine. Very concentrated and deep with autumnal bonfire ash. Spectacularly good, huge on the palate: damp decaying leaves; great acidity; volatility balanced by brown sugar flavours; delicious, sweet, long on the finish. Hardly any age. A great classic wine." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 20/20 "I had been in Bordeaux. I was 25. I prefer not to qualify the attitude of the French towards me, but no-one hurt me: they respected my oenological degree. However, I never took them a wine of my own. I was pretentious, my way! Was it as a reaction to this? I don’t know, but 1964 was my wild wine." Serge Hochar 1961 Chateau Musar  
"Slightly sludgy rust colour. Sweet, rich and thoroughly exotic. Old leather handbags? With some biscuit slurry (dunked, not-too-gingery ginger nuts?). Ethereal and lifted. Beautiful sweetness as it hits the palate then real freshness and super-clean, thoroughly mature aromas. Gloriously mature but not at all old. Does taste like a wine from a bygone age… Long and rich on the finish. Amazing to think that Cinsault can last this long. No variety imprints itself. Just a little chewiness on the end suggests a solid accompaniment would be wise." Jancis Robinson MW, Score: 18.5/20,  Drink: 1980-2028  1960 Chateau Musar  "Great depth for a wine of this age. Still very solid red with a touch of maturity on the rim. Looks about 15 years old. Classic nose: mature Bordeaux in character; signs of age and aromas reminiscent of very old cellars in France; lovely autumnal smells and meaty redcurrant fruit. Perfection on palate: full fruit and a great mouthfeel, with sweetness, length, great texture and perfect evolution; a little spicy and hot on the finish. Like an old Bordeaux but with better acidity, then a lovely aftertaste that conjures up the bonfire smells of autumn country walks. At its peak now. One of the best Musars I’ve ever tasted." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 20/20  "That summer I was invited to Château Langoa-Barton for an internship with Ronald Barton. What I saw, tasted and learned there affected me. If I had to describe myself, I was a civil engineer who made wine and who had started to discover the complexity of wine. I was trying to understand, to observe. I knew that nature will never repeat herself and for a while I thought I might change all the grape varieties that we were growing, but to plant grapes and make good wine takes 20 years, and what if I was wrong?  "However, I experimented a little with Grenache, Mourvèdre and Merlot. Looking back there were three stages to my winemaking. Between 1959 and 1964 I was making wines without an objective, with what we had at hand. From 1960 to 1970, having studied in Bordeaux and been influenced by Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe, I now realise that I was trying to produce wines in that style. Since 1970, I have been producing my wines, my way. Les vins du terroir Libanais." Serge Hochar 1959 Chateau Musar  "The oldest vintage presented by Serge Hochar in London in August 1979: fine, rich, mature; delicious bouquet; sweet, soft, fabulous. Twenty years later: orange-tinged; lovely old nose; still delicious. Last tasted at Musar in Beirut, Dec 1999." Michael Broadbent, Score: five stars Chateau Musar: the whites A blend of two local varieties, Merwah and Obaideh. Both grapes are partly fermented in oak
barriques (25% new each year) where they mature for a further nine months. They are then
blended, bottled and aged for a further six to eight years before release. 2012 Chateau Musar  "Fine fresh-looking lemon-yellow, but shows reassuring maturity. Dry honey and spices on the nose; a controlled richness of fruit on the palate that reminds me of Ygrec: complex, dry but with sweetness in its DNA before natural acidity lifts the exotic aftertaste. Lanolin smooth but not easy to assess (and not meant to be at this stage). Young white Musar that retains its mystery." Steven Spurrier, Score: 18.5/20, Drink: 2020-2035 2000 Chateau Musar  "Medium depth golden-yellow; no maturity showing. Still very closed on the nose, subdued, with a light floral nettle aroma. A bit astringent on the palate, but with mellow, soft textures and good acidity too. Needs time. By the next morning, the nose had come alive. The palate was beautiful, like a spicy Petite Suisse cheese, with great length. Nose continuing to develop on day three." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 18/20 1992 Chateau Musar  
"Deep orange gold. On the nose, beginning to mature and open up. Good depth and concentration. Lovely flavours of old Cheddar and surprisingly high acidity. Very good length on the aftertaste. Will age for a long time. After an hour in the glass, the wine started to develop characteristic honey aromas that also revealed themselves on the palate alongside a beautiful vanilla and beeswax aroma. The next morning saw it develop a rich, sweet, cognac-like nose; bone dry, powerful yet elegant on the palate with pronounced alcohol and a long finish. By day three, the middle nose had developed even more." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 18.5/20 "The weather was terrible. We had winter until June. Hail came. Biblical weather! I tried to make a Chateau Musar red, but two years later found it wasn’t up to standard, so we distilled it. The best grape that year was white Obaideh." Serge Hochar 1975 Chateau Musar  "Deep orangey gold; looks like a late harvest wine in colour. Nose; wow! Incredibly intense, concentrated, dry, very deep and austere: a combination of leather saddles, barnyard and old mahogany musky characters with mouthwatering citrus orange acidity. Astonishing complexity and intensity on the palate, with a syrupy texture. Massive, deep powerful, concentrated and long. Delicious flavours keep changing like a kaleidoscope in this mouth-filling but elegant wine. On day two it had aromas of sweet Australian ‘Tokay’ and a bite of cognac-like alcohol." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 20/20  1972 Chateau Musar  "Golden brass-yellow, very bright and alive. A superb nose with good depth and concentration, combining notes of apricot, brown sugar, cigar box and old charred wood. Unique. On the palate: a delicious, dry lean wine with a sweet finish and tremendous length. In perfect condition with a lovely lingering aftertaste. Very cerebral. Tastes of very old cellars. Day two saw an amazing development of the nose: very hard to describe but utterly riveting to the brain." Bartholomew Broadbent, Score: 20/20  [All extracts from 'Chateau Musar: The Story of a Wine Icon' have been published online with the kind permission of the Académie du Vin Library.] Read more Editorial 

The rise of Chateau Musar is legendary. We take a closer look at the vintages that have cemented the Lebanese estate's enviable reputation in the hearts and minds of critics and collectors alike.

Exploring the vintages that have made Chateau Musar such a fine wine icon – from 1972 to 2013 

Chateau Musar tasting notes year by year

Xavier Vignon could best be described as a maverick winemaker whose inquisitive mind and extraordinary experiments have taken him on journeys all around the world, working on some of the must cutting-edge developments in today’s burgeoning wine scene. Initiated into oenology from a scientific background he has always had the benefit of operating free from the shackles of tradition yet now in his 40th year as a winemaker, his wealth of experience has seen him integrate his science with sensibility, developing an appreciation of producing wine in its most natural form.  We spoke to an initially noticeably weary Xavier Vignon, who is still recovering from a fairly serious bout of COVID-19. However, as soon as he starts to talk about his current projects he becomes distinctly more animated as he begins to describe all the fascinating projects he is currently working on.  This is a vigneron who clearly cannot stay still for long and has a huge drive and enthusiasm for his work. In fact, in his early days as a vigneron he was on the move all over the world working in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, California for half of the year whilst returning to his native France to work through the harvest in the northern hemisphere. He carried out 40 harvests in 20 years.  His winemaking career started in Champagne before exploring the other wine regions of France, working in Alsace and Bordeaux among others. Coming from a family of stonemasons whose philosophy was to travel when young, he was encouraged to explore the world before settling down. These travels and the variety of experiences working in oenology from one country and climate to the next are surely a vital part of the puzzle for Xavier’s success as a winemaker. It was the Rhône Valley that finally stopped him in his tracks. Admitting he had never really
been interested in the wines of the Southern Rhône, hence the reason he arrived there later in his career, only to find that it had everything he was looking for. A huge variety of terroirs, varying altitudes, an array of grape varieties. This meant lots of freedom in blending (reminding him of his work in Champagne) lots of work on tannins (harking back to Bordeaux) and working in warmer climates of the new world. He was well-prepped to take on the region, setting up his own laboratory and consultancy practice initially advising for 20 – 25 winemakers before it expanded to over 500 in the region. Minerality, water and wine Xavier’s technical skills certainly helped many traditional vignerons to develop their wine
for global export but it also gave Xavier a tremendous opportunity to explore the multitude of wines throughout the region. Xavier became fascinated with things that were clearly evident in tasting so many wines of the region, which his scientific background couldn’t always explain. “Minerality” for example, is a term bandied around wine circles everywhere you go. We all know it exists but science cannot tell us what it is. It is not clear that we even all think it is the same thing, Xavier claims.  He was part of an extensive global research paper exploring what consumers and wine professionals identify as “minerality”. The study interviewed 5,000 consumers and 5,000 professionals resulting in no clear evidence that people were talking about the same thing. The only clear answer was that Chablis had minerality! Half the study thought more about smell, 50% thought about flavour. There is no definition still states Xavier. But this began his fascination with water and for him the key to understanding the secrets of minerality – despite him knowingly accepting he had no scientific data to prove it. This was his first step towards trusting his sensibilities over scientific analysis. For him you need to look to water to understand minerality. 85% of wine is water, water is
a huge proportion of what we taste, he states. Xavier looks to mineral water companies, even beer and whisky companies who have invested much more analysis on the affects of water, than the wine industry, largely because they have more money to do so, but also because water plays a much bigger role in their taste profile (in beer water is 90-95% water compared to wine which technically is 100% grape juice).  In their analysis of mineral salt, bottled mineral waters from different parts of the world have distinctly different levels of each mineral affecting the flavour of the water. Beer companies have also accepted that their beers made in different factories around the world taste different depending on where they are made because of the composition of the water. Whisky famously is obsessed by the quality of its water in regard to the final flavour profile of each distillery.  "So why not wine too?", asks Xavier. In different parts of the Rhône he identifies how high levels of silica in a wine makes the wine taste more acidic. How different chloride minerals provide a flavour of salinity in the wine, magnesium creates bitterness and so on. Scientific analysis doesn’t register the difference, but the difference is extraordinarily apparent when tasting. The effect of water is intrinsic, Xavier believes, to the strong mineral flavours of the Southern Rhône. The wines of the region could never taste like they do elsewhere because of the effect of the mistral. The mistral wind in places (particularly Châteauneuf-du-Pape) is so strong that it evaporates water from the berries, heightening the concentrations of mineral salts the grapes have absorbed in the water from the ground whilst the water evaporates from the berries. Xavier believes Gigondas, where the vines tend to be more protected from the mistral due to the protection of the hills, is less mineral for that reason. Xavier’s fascination with the effects of water on wine was a big reason why he began his
Arcane series, a set of one-off wines that are produced with minimal manipulation. He looks back at some regions he has worked in, stating parts of California and Australia require one to one and a half tonnes of irrigated water just to produce one bottle of wine. This is crazy! Whilst we have the science and technology for this to work, it doesn’t make sense. The Arcane Series of wines by Xavier The first wine made from the Arcane series was called “Le Diable” – translates as “the devil”. It came about when one of the vignerons he was advising took him to a high altitude Mourvèdre vineyard. The winemaker now in his eighties had struggled his whole life to get the Mourvèdre this high up to ripen, never achieving the results to use in his final wine. Xavier convinced the vigneron not to harvest the grapes with the rest of his crop, to leave the grapes on the vine and to see what happens.  It was 2015, a very late harvest already Xavier recalls but this extended Indian summer caused something in the vineyard they couldn’t believe. As the grapes continued to ripen and sugars increase, the acidity also started to go up as well! They had never seen anything like it. Xavier convinced the grower to sell him the grapes and produced the wine made just from these grapes. Xavier took the wine back to the elderly grower, who on tasting the wine began to cry. In his lifetime he had never been able to produce a wine from the vineyard, particularly not a 100% Mourvèdre!  Xavier named it Le Diable, the nickname of the Mourvèdre in the Southern Rhône because it was so difficult to ripen. Xavier knew that what happened in 2015 was unlikely to be repeated. This was a wine that made itself. It was vines in the perfect place at the perfect time and this is what he wanted the Arcane series to represent. Ever since, the Arcane series (now in its 6th and 7th cuvee to be released in the next few weeks) are complete one offs never to be repeated. The story behind the Arcane series informed Xavier’s winemaking philosophy ever since. Whilst he believes we can use science and technology to manipulate wines, he wanted to move away from this, preferring nature to tell him where and when he should make the wine. That hasn’t stopped him experimenting however and there are plenty of other cuvées that
show off Xavier’s inquisitive scientific brain operating at full speed. He is currently working with a winery in Turkey that wants to produce a wine free of any manipulation. Not only organically and biodynamically grown, natural yeasts etc but they even want the fermentation and maturation vessel to have no impact on the wine – he came up with the “vinarium” – a dark glass tank for fermentation and maturation – a natural product that does not infuse any flavour in the wine.  His next experiment is to get rid of closures altogether by extending the neck of the bottle and melting the glass at the top to seal the wine without any other material such as cork to affect the flavour. He eventually wants to create individual wines from individual vines!  He is experimenting with ageing wines both in the ocean and with his own invention of submerging a tank of wine within another bigger tank of wine. He does this with his Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Ange, comparing the process to a baby in a womb, completely protected from the outside world.  He believes you can age wine like this for 50 years without any need for sulphides or racking because there is 100% humidity and an even atmospheric pressure on the wine all the time. It’s an expensive operation and for the moment not possible for all his wines. But the level of experimentation and inquisitiveness gives you a good impression the sort of lengths Xavier will go to to push the boundaries of modern winemaking. He has no problem blending a Châteauneuf-du-Pape with a Côtes du Rhône village cuvee to make it a better wine only for it to be downgraded to a Vin de France because a Châteauneuf-du-Pape cannot be included in a blend and be titled Côtes du Rhône Villages. His interest lies in how it tastes, accentuating the multifaceted variety and complexity that exists in the Southern Rhône, rather than the traditional restraints of the appellation system. This is a maverick whose wines today are some of the most exciting in the Southern Rhône. Discover all Xavier Vignon listings or read more Editorial

Based in the Southern Rhône for the last 25 years, Xavier Vignon has amassed a huge following from critics and consumers alike, with his wines often scoring in the high nineties, yet remaining extraordinary value. We caught up with him to find out the secrets to his success

Southern Rhône winemaker maverick Xavier Vignon on the secrets to his success and high-scoring wines

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