A pair of 1981s

Dinner at Caprice.

2014 Delamotte Blanc de Blancs - nose was very yeasty with notes of brioche. Ripe but not too sweet on the palate with good depth. Pretty elegant and alluring.

1981 Guigal La Landonne - served without decanting about 30 minutes after opening. This was showing beautifully, with lovely notes of leather, prunes, black cherries, and almost a hint of floral fragrance. Color was lighter than the '81 Grange. Also showed a bit of smokiness both on the nose and on the palate.

1981 Penfolds Grange - served without decanting right after opening. Nose was more green and grassy than expected. About 30 minutes later this was more minty, and lacking the coconut butter that usually comes with this wine and this vintage. Still some oak on the nose, sweet but not the same richness typical of Grange. More than 1½ hours later there was a little more sweet fruit, a little smoke, then some savory minerals and black olives more than 2 hours after opening. Unfortunately I do think there was a little cork taint here. Not bad to the point of the wine being undrinkable, but just very disappointing and not really enjoyable.

2014 Yquem, en imperial - nose of orange blossom water, saffron, beeswax, and a little candied pineapple. Really nice.

Full post on dinner is here.