1999 Hochar Pere et Fils

[Innkeeper]

1999 Hochar Pere et Fils, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon ($17 Blue Hill Wine Shop-Easterly Distributors). Alcohol 13%. This is the little brother of Chateau Musar, and is made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault 50/50. Have been sitting on this for close to a year and was worth it, even though it was "ready on release."

Very aromatic. Gives you overripe strawberries and red currents on the nose and upfront. Deeply concentated and well balanced full body crosses the palate, and the finish lingers and lingers. Very elegant and just about at it's peak.

Matched with a somewhat convaluted dinner. Daughter was up for yard sale this weekend, so we were going to have steak. When she told Mother, it resulted in a turned up nose. So I picked up lamb loin chops for her, and a porterhouse steak for daughter and I. Grilled all over charcoal and hickory chips. The lamb chops were accompanied by a salad with OUR OWN tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing. The steak, daughter got the fillet and I got the strip and bone), was accompanied with leftover peas from when the grandkids were here. It was all a very, very nice way to spend a Saturday night.

P.S. One commonality was that all meat was slathered with the last of our current batch of aioli.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 09-04-2004).]

[Thomas]

Good wine--I have had it, but IK, it ain't a Bordeaux [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img]

[Innkeeper]

It's more Bordeaux like than anything else. Couldn't see putting it under "Wines Without a Category."

[winoweenie]

Have had a zillion( 12-20 ) vintages of Musar and definately think of them as more Rhone than Bordeaux. What little cab is in them suckers be run over by the major Rhone varietals. Must side wif'm Foodie-cans on this'n. WW

[Innkeeper]

So I did.