Latour-à-Pomerol 1921

Next up was a 1921 Latour a Pomerol. Old Pomerols are one of the most counterfeited segments of wine, so much so that even the real ones are assumed by most to be fake. When it comes to 1920s and Pomerols, there is only one reference point that I have, and those are Nicolas bottles. Nicolas reconditioned and/or recorked its stock repeatedly over the years, and did it well, so their stock always has that ‘o so fresh’ feeling relative to many other bottles of a same age. The ‘Nicolas Reserve’ bottles are supposedly the ones that were only recorked, usually indicated by a small neck strip label. I have had this wine twice before, and it was consistent with those experiences. It would be easy to say that the wine was fake, especially without knowing or having tasted these before; it was unquestionably reconditioned but similar to many old Pomerols that I have had from multiple cellars. That super-concentrated, Pomerol, motor oil sex appeal is very difficult to replicate…although that might be a poor word choice! The wine was like chocolate thunder, and visions of Daryl Dawkins dunking on me caused a small bead of sweat to trickle down the side of my forehead. Gil admired its ‘liqueur and cherries jubilee.’ It had a smoky, big palate, chocolate tootsie pop flavors (which is a tell-tale for Nicolas Pomerols). It was a bit simpler and softer in the mouth than I had hoped, but it did show that full-maturity integration. It was still lush, tender, silky and velvety. Based upon all my reference of numerous ‘20's Bordeaux - original, reconditioned, recorked - this wine had classic components of both the vintage of 1921 and the terroir of Pomerol

- John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit