Which one would you serve first?

Hello All,

I'm finally getting to do my big Rieussec tasting, to take place Friday night. But I have a challenge I've been debating for the past 6 months or so: should I serve the 1981 Mouton first before proceeding to any of the Rieussec's, or rather serve the likely fragile 1916 Rieussec first, then proceed to a pairing of the 1981 Mouton and 1981 Rieussec? A wine from a weak vintage like 1916 is likely to be rather dried out by now, but it is still a Sauternes, and I wouldn't want to compromise the Mouton. On the other hand, the Mouton is a 1er Cru Pauillac, and may simply have too much body and firmness to serve before a delicate, 93 year old wine.

All thought, opinions, and perspectives welcome.

Thanks,
Ryan

[Jenise]

Ryan, I'm not clear here.

Is the 1916 a Mouton or a Rieussec? If the former, pair it with the other Mouton. If the latter, serve it after and alone. But by no means pair the 81 Mouton and 81 Rieussec together.

Sorry, the 1916 is a Rieussec (I've clarified my post above). When I say "pair" the 1981's together, what I actually meant was simply follow the '81 Mouton directly with the '81 Rieussec (oh no, I would never taste back and forth between those). So the issue is, should the '16 Rieussec be served before or after the '81 Mouton. The fact that the former is a Sauternes is perhaps trumped by the 65 year age difference. So, the specific issue is, will the likely somewhat dried-out '16 Rieussec be too rich for the '81 Mouton to follow it, or will the '81 Mouton still have enough tannin and structure that you wouldn't want to follow it with a likely fragile, 65 year older wine?

No quandary for me: serve the 1916 Rieussec first, and by itself. Accompany it with some light apps and make it a pre-prandial if you wish. That wine is the raison d'etre (weak pun intended) and should be the unquestioned showcase and given every opportunity to shine. Don't overburden the wine by serving it after a series of wine, or expecting it to shine after some heavy-weight tannic cab blend.

No quandary for me: serve the 1916 Rieussec first, and by itself. Accompany it with some light apps and make it a pre-prandial if you wish. That wine is the raison d'etre (weak pun intended) and should be the unquestioned showcase and given every opportunity to shine. Don't overburden the wine by serving it after a series of wine, or expecting it to shine after some heavy-weight tannic cab blend.

Thanks Hoke - that was exactly my thinking as well, but this unusual territory.