A while back I had the idea of having an ’81 wine tasting for my birthday party this year as I was born in ’81, so I gathered a small lot of 81’s in anticipation of this event (side note: I’m glad I wasn’t born in ’82 because my idea would have cost me about triple what it did).
Anyway, since I will be the only wine geek there, I am not really wanting a really intense and focused tasting, rather just friends sitting at a table and enjoying some older wine and maybe get a little education while we’re at it. With limited glassware my plan is to do flights of two for at least a little bit of a comparison. I also plan on limiting the total number of bottles. There will be at most 7 people tasting before my party starts, so I don’t want us all too far gone for dinner and beyond (we’ll be gone during the beyond probably, but at least that will be after dinner). I also plan on having plenty of younger wine on hand for those who just don’t like the older stuff or if we run out and need some other bottles.
I have put together a preliminary list below, I welcome critiques and suggestions as well as decanting and prep advice. I had originally thought of double decanting each bottle about 30 mins to an hour before to facilitate an easier tasting, also I don’t plan on finishing each bottle during the tasting so people will be able to go back afterwards and refill on their favorite with no worry of stirring up sediment.
Flight 1 - Bubbles
2004 Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon
N.V. Ruinart Dom Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs
Flight 2 – Cali (because that is what they all know)
1981 Santa Lucia Cellars Pinot Noir Burgundy
1981 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Flight 3 – BDX 1 (northernmost bottle in the group vs the southernmost)
1981 Château Montrose
1981 Château Pape-Clement
Flight 4 – BDX 2 (two from the below 4, I haven’t deiced yet. The two unopened ones will be backups or be enjoyed later)
1981 Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande
1981 Château Leoville-Las-Cases
1981 Château Ducru-Beaucaillou
1981 Château Palmer
Another thought was to cut one of the bottles of bubbles and move the pinot up to that flight and then compare the Mondavi to a Bordeaux from the same year.
That seems like a super fun dinner, and the order seems nice. My suggestion is similar to Jim’s: Rioja. Lopez de Heredia’s '81 Gran Riservas are sensational, especially the Bosconia. Up until recently it was reasonably priced and reasonably available, although they have crept up.
The Rioja is an excellent idea, and a reason why I should have started this thread a month ago, not 3 days before the party… well there’s always next year, international 81’s.
As a fellow 81 baby, I’ve had most of these. I strongly suspect the Mondavi will blow the pants off of all the BDX’s other than the Palmer and maybe the LLC. 81 Napa, despite its rep, is holding up better these days than 81 bdx, which is starting to really dry out. I think PLL is on last legs (other than particularly well-preserved bottles), as is Ducru. The only Montrose I opened was bretty so can’t help with that, but I imagine sound bottles might still be on the plateau.
For 81 these days, the places to go are Napa, Spain, and Italy, particularly Tuscany (though I have an 1981 Amarone in the hopper that I am very excited to try, supposedly 81 was a reasonable success in the Veneto). It’s not that the BDX’s aren’t good, but they’re not a patch on 82 (of course) or even 83.
I agree on the 81 PLL, I had one this winter that was very good but hanging on (I’m an 81 birth year also). Gruaud Larose and Beychevelle were pretty good also.
Your list looks good and fun. Good luck and happy birthday! The Bordeaux and Calis look fun. You obviously don’t have time for this birthday, but maybe for 40 you can look for some Lala’s or CdP. I have had stellar Guigals and Clos de Papes
echoing the 81 cali cabs… as another 81 birth year guy, I popped an 81 Monte Bello a number of months ago for some friends and it was expressive and open for business.
An early happy 35th birthday! Mine is in November… will take some cues from your list here as well as the suggestions of others… I was just going to open a bunch of old champagne, riesling and burgs and say screw birth year!
Awesome idea and I’m sure you guys are going to have a blast.
My 35th was this past December and we did something similar. 8 of us total with my wife and I being the only wine nerds. Went all California with 10 bottles total (cabs, petite sirah, and a Ridge Geyserville). Even though nobody else was really into wine like my wife and I, eveyone had an amazing time, and they just thought it was fun drinking bottles that old and talking about what was going on in 1980.
another '81 guy here. the montrose i’ve had was very nice, but David’s mention of brett is certainly a potential. Faryan and I had an '81 LMHB a couple years ago and it was very nice.
of late, an '81 Latour was fantastic as are a lot of the higher quality Riojas. Champagne is proving a bit hit-or-miss right now. opened a '81 Cristal back in November that was decent, but there was a ton of oxidation (and it wasn’t the cheery oxidation you might find in current release Selosse, for instance).
still hoping to find good bottles of Beaucastel and Vega.
What I´m strongly missing is a wine of the most successful region in 1981 - Chateauneuf-du-Pape … really great legendary wines were produced there, but even cheaper negociant bottles can be fine, if well kept …
… and why not putting in a 3rd bt. into Flight 3 - maybe Palmer from a “middle” appellation …
I have tried some 81 CdP (not Beaucastel, though), and the issue is the brett. I don’t think that’s a 1981 issue, it’s a CdP 35 years ago issue, but it is certainly a problem. Ruined, for example, a bottle of 81 Fortia for me.