1981 Chateau Latour Grand Vin Pauillac

There are times I peruse through my cellar where I spy upon some older vintage wines I have been cellaring and wonder to myself, why I haven’t opened this yet. Such is the case with this almost 40 year old 1^st Growth Bordeaux that has gathered a significant amount of dust throughout its aging process. Uncorked with my Ahso opener, it showed a rust brick color and a bit of a funky mushroom aroma which vanished within a few minutes. The black currant fruit was a bit thin with more tea, leather and cigar box notes with an earthy herbal undertone. The flavor was more smooth, sleek and silky as opposed to powerful and in your face. Not much on the finish as well as most of its tannin structure had faded. Though not a classic vintage as far as collectability goes, I’d sum it up as a skier just starting to gain speed on the downside of a hill. Still enjoyable but it would have shown better 5 years or maybe more ago. Thus, be careful of that old adage that Wine gets better with age. Some do, some don’t. Some surprise you, some will disappoint. In this case, I caught it somewhere in between.