oops!

a few years ago my sister found a 1997 chateau musar in a corner of an astoria wine shop, collecting dust among cheap greek and bulgarian wines. quite pleased at finding this lebanese gem, which was priced way below market, she bought one right away. but because she had too much luggage, she left it in my apartment when she flew back to washington, making me promise to save it for her. soon afterwards, she became pregnant.


so i'd been saving this bottle for when she finishes breast-feeding, which should be in a few months' time. well, i should say i was, until the other night. not to self: don't try picking out wine in the dark, especially between taking off contact lenses and putting on glasses.

when i realized my mistake my immediate thought was, "well, with those hot summers it's probably gone bad..." i must regretfully inform my sister, it had not: beautiful aroma of berries and tobacco, slightly sour but in a mellow, natural sort of way, like fresh cherries. i had imagined something quite exotic and spicy but it's more of an old world beauty. ****four stars

i went back to the old wine store this morning. a new generation is now in control of management, making the place more organized. they've even installed an online tracking+ordering system. prices are generally a bit lower than in manhattan, but now you never find a totally random, over- or under-priced bottle. so the chateau musar red now costs around $45, same as elsewhere and nearly double what the old man thought it was worth. perhaps the unrest of the past few years added to the cost. a very knowledgeable salesman tried to console me, saying the 1999 vintage is "even better" than the 1997. i'm tempted to see for myself, but maybe i should keep this one in the deepest corner of my cupboard.