1787 - was it even a good year? Continued/…

Posted on | February 22, 2006

So, I was about to tell you about Yquem..

..but then a book flopped through my letterbox - An Evening with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson* by James Gabler (published by Bacchus Press Ltd, Florida). What an ingenious idea. To create a fictional character who sits down with these two great figures from history and talks to them about their lives - their beliefs, the slanders they suffered and political setbacks and, of course, about wine. I haven’t had time to read all of it and relish the prospect of enjoying it over the next few days. But what a coincidence.

There is also something else very interesting in the book which follows on from my earlier post on 16th February. Its about the Jefferson Lafite… During their imaginary but ‘fact’ based conversations our modern day protagonist who has travelled back in time to meet these two asks the question:

“Whether this bottle was ever owned or possessed by you, Mr Jefferson, has evoked much comment. To clear up any ambiguity about its Jefferson provenance, did you ever own or possess this ‘1787 Lafite Th.J.’ bottle?”

“Jefferson turned and looked at Franklin and back to me. His lips were curved in a slight smile. “Jack, I never owned or possessed that bottle, and there are number of very good reasons that should refute any claim that I did. “

Several pages are then devoted to this part of Jefferson’s life and whether he had ever ordered these bottles.

Obviously, a great deal of research has gone into providing the factual background to these conversations. In particular, there is a fascinating Appendix which contains the hitherto unpublished report by Lucia Goodwin Stanton, the then director of research at Monticello. She raises a number of questions about the authenticity of the bottle. Let me share one of them with you:

“Most of Jefferson’s wine order make an appearance in all four documentary areas (letters, letter record, memorandum book, or miscellaneous accounts, including customs records and bank statements.) But Château Lafite 1787 does not appear in a single one.”

Many other facts or rather omissions are catalogued.

This is a fascinating story and which I believe is now, finally, being investigated quite seriously.

Take a look at our FORUM for some further info on this.

Now about that Yquem…

[Sorry to break this up like this but this whole subject has turned into something much bigger than I intended when I started. I will return to it soon - Fabian]

* An Evening with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson: Dinner, wine and conversation
Bacchus Press Ltd. ISBN 0-9613525-6-6
bacchuspr@aol.com
website

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