The Winemaker's note:
 
A fairly normal winter followed by a fresh spring with no hail or frost and then a mild summer with a very cloudy and fresh August followed by a sunny September. These perfect conditions allowed grapes to mature slowly and surely at a pace rarely achieved.
 
The harvest started on the 15th September and ended on the 11th October for the reds and the 21st October for the whites. However we had to stop harvesting for four days from the 30th September to the 3rd October because of rain. Fermentation continued at about the same pace at which the grapes had matured. It was the slowest and best fermentation we have ever had at Chateau Musar, especially between the 15th and 30th September with 80% of the harvest in the cellar.
 
I tasted the wines on the 18th November. Almost all malolactics are finished and wines look ready for drinking. Very, very beautiful wines and the white wines are just as beautiful as the reds. All wines are big and perfectly balanced whatever the cepage – Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Cinsault, Merwah and Obaideh. Definitely a vintage to follow very closely…..

Serge Hochar – November 1997