▻ The Best Books on Bordeaux

Let's Talk About

18 Dec

Written By Sarah Kemp

Sarah Kemp in conversation with Jane Anson

Episode Summary:-

Is there any region as rich in great wine literature as Bordeaux? In this episode, Jane Anson and Sarah Kemp look at their ideal Bordeaux bookshelf, recommending books old and new, which claret hounds should seek out. First up is their selection on the history of Bordeaux, “1855: A History of The Bordeaux Classification,” by Dewey Markham, “Wine and War,” by Don and Petie Kladstrup, “Knee Deep in Claret: A Celebration of Wine and Scotland,” by Billy Kay and Cailean Maclean, “The Politics of Wine in Britain: A New Cultural History,” by Professor Charles Luddington, and “A Yankee Jeffersonian: Selections from the Diary and Letters of William Lee,” by Harvard University Press.

Books on individual châteaux also provide much entertainment. Sarah recommends searching out two Christie’s Wine Publications by Cyril Ray, on Château Lafite and Château Mouton Rothschild. Also highly recommended by Jane and Sarah is “Château Lafite: The Almanac,” by Saskia de Rothschild,” which they call a “total page-turner.” Politics and economics are well covered in several riveting books: “Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Revolution,” by William Echikson, which is the story behind the Lur Saluces family and Château d’Yquem, and, also on the Lur Saluces family, but with Château de Fargues, “Château de Fargues: The Insane Ambition of the Lur Saluces Family,” by Hélène Farnault and François Poincet. “The Billionaire’s Vinegar,” by Benjamin Wallace, published in 2009, is even better on a second reading Jane says, a crash course on wine auctions, high rollers, combined with some comic comeuppance…

A perfect present for any Bordeaux lover must be Academie du Vin’s anthology “On Bordeaux,” with many excellent articles from Harry Waugh, Michael Broadbent, Elie de Rothschild, Jean-Michel Cazes and Steven Spurrier.

““Bordeaux has attracted many wonderful writers over the centuries.” ”

— Jane Anson

Bordeaux abounds in excellent reference books. Sarah recommends Stephen Brooks’ “Complete Bordeaux,” published by Mitchell Beazley and now in its 4th edition. Oz Clarke’s “Bordeaux,” full of reflections in his exuberant style, is also worth a place on the shelf. “The Bordeaux Atlas,” a clear and substantial overview by Hubrecht Duijker, has long been a favourite in the Anson household. And then, though Jane is too modest to mention it, there is “Inside Bordeaux.” Sarah highly recommends Jane’s book, which takes a new approach to the region, with terroir as its central theme. Fresh off the presses is Neal Martin’s “Vintage Guide.” Sarah describes it as a tour de force. In this vein, ultimately, the one reference Sarah would not be without is Cocks & Féret – she has requested she be buried with it.

The book aren’t all facts and figures however, Bordeaux has inspired novelists as well. The one book Sarah and Jane both love, and have passed onto other wine friends, is “A Gentleman in Moscow,” by Amor Towles, a must-read for wine lovers. Elizabeth Chadwick’s trilogy on the life and strife of Eleanor of Aquitaine (“The Summer Queen,” “The Winter Crown,” and “The Autumn Throne”) has Jane enchanted – the remarkable story of a woman who was Queen of France and England. A personal favourite of Sarah’s is “In the Vine Country,” by Somerville and Ross, a wonderful tour of the Medoc, sometimes ironically comical but always appreciative of the wines, by two Anglo-Irish ladies in the 19th century (best known for writing “The Irish PM” novels under a pen name).

Last up are biographies, another rich seam… A favourite of both Sarah and Jane is “Milady Vine,” the biography of Baron Philippe de Rothschild by Joan Littlewood. Jean-Michel Cazes’s biography, “From Bordeaux to the Stars,” was published in English by the Academie du Vin Library just before he died this year – a truly remarkable man, whose story is also the story of Bordeaux over the last 50 years. “The Secrets of My Life” by Peter M.F. Sichel is singled out by Jane, he wrote it when he was 90 years old, and has just celebrated his 100th birthday – proof indeed of the restorative power of Bordeaux. Sarah’s final book is “A Viking in the Vineyard,” the biography of Peter Vinding-Diers, who ran Château Rahoul and gives a riveting personal account of the ups and downs of running a château in Bordeaux in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Running Order:-

0.00 – 17.40

“Bordeaux has attracted many wonderful writers over the centuries.” – Jane Anson

– Best Bordeaux history books.
– Best books on Bordeaux politics and economics.
– Best compilations.
17.41 – 38.18

“Jefferson was only in Bordeaux for five days.” – Jane Anson

– Best reference books.
– Best novels about Bordeaux wine.
– Best Bordeaux biographies.