Bordeaux


Apologies to linguistic pedants for the Franglais title, but will the French ever learn? Decanter has a news story on its site featuring recent comments from Robert Beynat, the CEO of Vinexpo, among them ‘The internet is not the right medium for the sale of wines and spirits, it is […]

Oh cher, pas encore…



There’s a well-known estate in Bordeaux called Château Petit Village. It’s in the hallowed appellation of Pomerol and is owned by the insurance group AXA. There’s a less well-known estate called Château Grand Village. Logic would dictate that if Petit Village cost un bras et une jambe, then you should […]

Why is Petit grander than Grand? Discuss…



Just back from three days in France, and a mound of work and clutter to deal with. After the sun of the Languedoc, it was a bit of a shock to wake up at home this morning with a smattering of snow on the car. After tasting ~400 wines from […]

1855 revisited, and the Wine Wasteland


So the Bordeaux cru bourgeois classification is going to be suspended (see here). Golly, this WILL have the rest of the winemaking world quaking in its boots. Why, oh why do the French spend so much time on things that the rest of the world doesn’t give a stuff about? […]

Cru Bourgeois – who gives a stuff?