Lafleur 1921

Last and not least, wines number 19 and 20 on this legendary evening, were a pair of 1921 Pomerols, beginning with a magnum of 1921 Lafleur. Yeah, yeah, I know what some of you are thinking already but read on first, will ya? The Lafleur was decadently thick and rich, chocolaty and intense, chunky like Afa and Sika yet agile like Samala. Any Wild Samoan fans out there? Anyway, it had the full fruit symphony – black, red, purple and even blue. It was so rich and thick in the mouth, I coined it ‘redunkulous.’ Lush, round flavors and a thick finish added up to championship material. This was a Nicolas magnum, recorked in the ‘80s according to Rob, and it had a blank cork. Now I know that probably a majority of people in the wine world, both collectors and resellers (at least today ahem ahem) would probably immediately assume this magnum to be fake. I doubt I would sell it in today’s marketplace, too. However, it was consistent with all the other Nicolas bottles of ‘20s Pomerol that I have had (Nicolas are pretty much the only ones you can find anymore that are legitimate), and it was incredibly good, showing amazing concentration and tell-tale Pomerol qualities. I think Gil said it a couple months ago best, something to the extent that ‘if something this good is fake, I don’t care.’ And if this magnum was fake, then every single 1920s Pomerol in existence is fake, too. Now I didn’t go into this long diatribe because Rob has a lot of old Pomerols in his upcoming auction at the end of April; in fact, he insisted on not offering any, citing market insecurity and the fact that ‘they’re just too damn good.’ And this magnum was a perfect case in point; it was, indeed, ‘too damn good.’ I went into this diatribe because I choose to believe that there are real bottles of these wines still in existence, and that on the scales of justice, paranoia sometimes has to be balanced with a healthy dose of reason. I don’t think too many people treated to a glass of this wine, from this magnum, could convince me or any of the incredibly experienced tasters at our table that something was fundamentally unsound about this wine

- John Kapon / CEO / Ackerr Merrall & Condit