The Ultimate Bordeaux Bookshelf

Don’t buy another book on Bordeaux until you have read this!!

Châteaux-specific books
This can be a dangerous category, which runs the gamut of beautiful-but-useless coffee table books to exhaustive histories, to château-commissioned puff pieces. But there are some hidden gems. Standing out above all of them is Château Lafite, The Almanac (Flamarion, 2022 – originally released with a magnum of 2018 in a limited edition of 300, but now more widely available). Written by Saskia de Rothschild, it is a total page-turner, presented as a scrapbook that follows the vintages year by year from the estate’s purchase by the Rothschilds in 1968 through to the 150th anniversary in 2018. Along the way you’ll find details on initial price of the wine, vintage notes, reminiscences, extracts and drawings from diaries and visitor books, interviews with vineyard workers and winemakers, the odd postcard and newspaper article (including, excitingly, proof that Baron James de Rothschild did in fact visit Lafite on September 7, 1868, a fact that had previously been disputed), along with widow’s stationary with black borders and the initials of his widow Baroness Betty, who moved to Lafite on his death, and lived at the château for two years. I am thrilled to have a tasting note in here (the 1983, from a dinner celebrating the 150th anniversary… I said it was ‘a little more evolved than the other two in the lineup… but it still tastes hugely enticing, with cigar box… underripe tea leaf notes balanced by … brambly autumnal fruits edged with cold ash’).

Inevitably I have numerous examples of these château-specific books in my house, with a few that I have written myself – namely Angélus (Editions de la Martinère, 2016), and Haut-Bailly (First Press Editions, 2021). With both of them, I tried to avoid the pitfalls of overly-inward-looking books by putting the focus on how these estates sit within the wider history of their appellations, and particularly loved tracing what happened in St Emilion during World War II, when parts of the appellation were cut by the demarcation line. I will leave you to judge for yourselves if I got the balance right…

The classic First Growth histories written in the mid 20th century from Christie’s Wine Publications still have great charm, and plenty of fascinating history and architectural details – and as so much of the history at these properties dates back centuries, they barely feel out of date. Look out for both Lafite and Mouton by Cyril Ray (1968, revised edition 1978). They are not, as Ray is very clear in his introduction, sponsored books, meaning they were not paid for by the châteaux, although he was given full access to their archives – and his preface does make clear that he was, to a certain extent, paid in kind – he thanks a Madame Germaine Petit, wife of the Lafite gardener, ‘who cooked my meals for weeks (I drank Lafite with everything)…’.

Latour by Nicolas Faith is in the same Christies Wine Publications (1991), and provides an impressively detailed summary (and in many ways more approachable – certainly if wanting to sit down in front of the fire with a glass of wine) version of the majestic Château Latour: History of a Great Vineyard (Segrave Foulkes 1993), that is hard to beat if you really want to deep dive. This really is a wonderful château to read about, not least because they have some of the most extensive archives in Bordeaux – that were saved, I read in Faith’s book, thanks to the wonderful Jean-Paul Gardère, who was decades later such a help to me in researching my own book on the First Growths, Bordeaux Legends… see below.

More recently, Château de Fargues, The Incredible Ambition of the Lur Saluces family in Sauternes, is another enjoyable addition to the genre (Glénat, 2022). With stories of a family that has a history in the region dating back to 1472, and who know better than most the joy and pain of this elusive but beautiful wine style. It also comes with gorgeous photography and recipes written by Michelin-starred chefs. Personally I’d like more family stories through the centuries, but it is a stunning and gorgeous book.

History
Easily one of my favourite categories when it comes to Bordeaux reading. I think we should start with the late and much missed Dewey Markham Jnr’s 1855: A History of the Classification (John Wiley & Son, 1998). The first book to actually dive into the reasons behind the classification, how it was organised and planned, and the cast of characters that made it happen. There are lots of facts and figures, but hidden underneath this are dozens of fascinating stories of egos and power grabs. Bittersweet that this was the only book that Markham wrote.

Another classic of the genre has to be Wine & War by Don and Petie Kladstrup (Coronet Books, 2001). Bordeaux gets less coverage than many of the other regions of France, but there is still plenty here, from hiding Jewish refugees at Château Palmer to the fascinating and disturbing history of the Weinführers (you can read an extract here).

Let’s just briefly mention my first book Bordeaux Legends (Abrams, 2012). It sits in this section rather than the above one because it is about five estates rather than a specific one, and was not commissioned by the châteaux, although as with Cyril Ray, I will be forever grateful for the welcome they extended to me during the research and writing, although somehow I wasn’t fed endless bottles of Lafite while doing so… It was the first (and to date only) book to cover the First Growths in this way, knitting their separate histories together and trying to unpick how one influenced the next, and while I know I am biased, I truly believe that learning why these five particular châteaux became the five 1855 First Growths (and why Mouton Rothschild was a century late to the party) is not only a great story, but one of the best ways to learn about the entire history of the Bordeaux region. You can read an extract here.

Looking more widely at the history of Bordeaux, Thomas Jefferson always exerts a fascination to lovers of this region, and there are two books that I can recommend if you want to find out more. A particularly unusual one, in English, is A Yankee Jeffersonian (Harvard University Press, 1958), that comprises selections from the diary and letters of William Lee of Massachusetts written from 1796 to 1840. It can be a little difficult to follow at times but gives the most incredible account of Bordeaux just after the French Revolution (and not long after the American Revolution) when this became the outpost of the first commercial agent from the new United States to France, and then from 1801 the site of the first consul – William Lee. Along the way he meets Napoleon Bonaparte, Talleyrand, Madison, Jefferson and John Quincy Adams… and the title comes from the fact that he was loyal to Jefferson’s person and politics throughout (he even named his son Thomas Jefferson Lee).

A second book, in French, is Thomas Jefferson à Bordeaux was written by Bernard Ginstet (Editions Mollat, 1996). I must have read this book dozens of times, because it contains so much fascinating information about the measly five days (five days!!) that Jefferson spent in Bordeaux, where he stayed, what he drank, what he saw at the theatre…  along with plenty of extra details about the city at the time, the dominant personalities, and the splitting of estates such as Léoville in St Julien (which at the time, as he says, was ‘en indivision mais pas encore divisé’ – farmed separately by warring family members but not yet officially divided).

I can also recommend a few books by Professor Charles Ludington, a specialist on the relationship between England, Scotland, Ireland and Bordeaux, largely over the 17th and 18th centuries. The Politics of Wine in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) is one that is particularly fascinating, packed full of facts and figures on the politicisation of Bordeaux wine, and the role of the English in the growth of claret (and port – plenty of interesting sections of this also). Ludington has a new book coming out any time now The Irish in 18th Century Bordeaux that is bound to be equally fascinating. He is both editor and author of several of the 10 essays in this book by internationally known scholars of Irish, British, French, and Atlantic History that covers the entire period in which there was a substantial Irish colony in Bordeaux (1689-1815).

Staying in the 19th century, I have a rather wonderful short book set in 1855, written by a Monsieur Saint-Amant, who calls himself a ‘former négociant en vins’. Entitled Promenade en Médoc (bought print on demand from the Bibliotheque Nationale de France), it follows St Amant’s travels through the region visiting various châteaux – and rather deliciously in a year that becomes so emblematic for the region, but of course without realising it at the time. He is full of gossip and sideways glances at how the Bordeaux system works (I guess the word ‘former’ in his job title tells you that he is happy to spill secrets), and provides a fascinating overview of the Médoc vineyards at the time – speaking, for example, of white wines in Taillan, and that Mouton is entirely planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. The text is in French, but if you can read in the language, it’s fascinating.

Reference books
There are plenty of these over the years (and again, I will just briefly point out that Inside Bordeaux sits happily in this category), but even 10 years after publication, Pomerol by Neal Martin (Wine Journal Publishing, 2012) is an exceptional book that should be in every Bordeaux lovers wine library. What I like about it personally is that, even if plenty of owners and other details have changed over the past decade, the book just sings with personality, and does an excellent job of conveying just how different, and entirely of itself, Pomerol is. Even the small touches like having the châteaux owners draw maps of their own vineyards is charming, and fits the appellation.

And speaking of older books that haven’t lost their charm, the appellation guides from Bernard Ginestet are truly outstanding. A Bordeaux insider, a member of one of the big families of the region, owner for a while of Château Margaux among many other estates, he was also a négociant, and an excellent writer. Most have been published in both English and French, so it’s hard to give dates for them all, but they were published in English by Aurum Press, almost entirely in the 1980s. The Margaux book, for example, has a foreword by Hugh Johnson, and he quite rightly says, ‘Always, behind even some seemingly bland report, you can feel the beat of the author’s pulse… each volume can teach you lore about each commune than would a dozen visits without such a guide’.

Several other Bordeaux reference books should be mentioned here – the original Bordeaux Atlas (Ebury Press 1997) by Hubrecht Duikjer with a foreword by Michael Broadbent, was edited by the same Segrave Foulkes team that published Inside Bordeaux and Inside Burgundy, and remains a fascinating snapshot of Bordeaux 25 years ago. Stephen Brooks Complete Bordeaux (Mitchell Beazley 2012) is on its 4th edition, and remains an important overview, putting a useful emphasis and exploration of individual vintages. Oh, and speaking of individual vintages, Neal Martin’s Bordeaux Vintage Guide (Quadrille, 2023) covers 150 vintages from 1870 to 2020. As he puts it, ‘Every year is accompanied by one event, one song and one film that encapsulates the spirit of the time and the world into which the vintage was born’. I love it when authors find a new way into a subject, and I have great admiration for Neal doing it first with Pomerol, and again with this book. It’s packed with fascinating information, and is a definite buy.

Biography
There are some true gems in this category, that you really shouldn’t miss. One of the best has to be The Secrets of My Life by Peter Sichel (Archway Publishing, 2011). Written when Sichel was approaching 90, I am happy to report that he has just recently celebrated his 100th birthday. This biography is truly gripping, covering his childhood as a German Jew in Mainz, his family’s struggles to leave Germany first to England, then France, then finally America. Later in life he spent 17 years working with the CIA, before returning to the family wine business in both Germany and Bordeaux.

I have to say that I resisted reading The Bordeaux Club by Neil McKendrick (Academie du Vin Library, 2022). A rarified wine club of largely Cambridge graduates who met three times a year in stately homes and private clubs to drink mature Bordeaux hardly sounds like a fascinating read – and more to the point seems very much like the image of Bordeaux that I spend much of my time trying to counter. However, the members of this club included Harry Waugh, Hugh Johnson, Michael Broadbent, Steven Spurrier, Simon Berry, among others – no more than six at any one time, presumably so there would be plenty of wine to go around when they were opening particularly rare bottles. It turns out that it is charming, well written, and jaw-droppingly jealousy-inducing in terms of the wines they drink.

I of course have to mention this year’s Bordeaux to the Stars biography written by Jean Michel Cazes (Academie du Vin Publishing, 2023). You can read it in the original French (Bordeaux Grands Crus, Le Reconquêtre) or in the English version that I translated. Either way, you will find Jean-Michel’s warmth and infectious enthusiasm, retelling a life that witnessed many of the momentous moments of 20th century France, from the Nazi occupation to the 1968 Paris student marches, to the rebirth of the Médoc following 1982.

Viking in the Vineyard Peter Vinding-Diers (Académie du Vin, 2021) recounts Vinding-Diers highly colourful life in Bordeaux and beyond, with a cast of characters that includes his nephew Peter Sisseck, Len Evans, the Gilbey family at Château Loudenne, Steven Spurrier… giving a wonderful insight into Bordeaux in the 1970s and 1980s particularly (he arrived in 1974 and stayed for three decades, first at Loudenne and then ending up as part owner of Châteaux Rahoul and Landiras).

One of my personal favourites, that I recommend everyone with an interest in Bordeaux wine should read, is Milady Vine (Century Publishing, 1984, or Vivre la Vigne in French, 1981 – although the French version is slightly different). Written by Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Joan Littlewood, this is a rolicking read, perhaps to be taken in places with a pinch of salt because Baron Philippe was clearly one of the world’s great storytellers. He takes us through the many different lives that he lived, from playboy and rally driver to poet and playwright – and the darker moments of being stripped of his French nationality during World War II, and escaping over the Pyrénées into Spain to eventually join Free France in London.

Tony Laithwaite’s Direct (Profile Editions, 2019) deserves a mention here too. Although of course mainly focused around the growth of Direct Wines, it has some wonderful stories of his arrival in Bordeaux in June 1965, and his first unpaid job on an archaeological dig of a Roman winery in St Colombe Castillon, an area where he fell in love with vineyards that were ‘totally – but totally – free of grass and weeds… (but) dotted with fruit trees. Welcome shade for toiling workers’. Perhaps not coincidentally, this is close to the area where Laithwaite has a château (and a winery/shop, Le Chai au Quai in Castillon) today, and the way he gets from there to here is told with the customary good nature that anyone who has sat next to him at a dinner with attest. It also focuses on a part of the wine trade that is not always given its fair due in books – every day drinking wines, made by families, from hidden corners of France. Even the Bordeaux négociants that he talks about are the blenders, the workhorses who were such an important part of this region’s history. One last book that I can’t miss mentioning in this category is  Steven Spurrier’s A Life in Wine (Académie du Vin, 2020). Make sure you get the updated version, which has been edited to make things a little tighter, but it’s impossible to resist this memoir that covers the life of a man who influenced the wine industry more than almost anyone else in the 20th century.

Politics and Economics
Most of the books in this category are in French, but there are a few notable exceptions. Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution, by William Echikson (2006) was without doubt one of the first books to open my eyes to the what was happening in Bordeaux below the gloss, and that made me interested in staying in the region and learning more. It’s centred around the sale of Château d’Yquem to Bernard Arnaud and LVMH, and is both a fascinating family drama and a wider unpeeling of the politics of the region. Both this and  The Billionaire’s Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace (Three Rivers Press, 2009) take a journalist eye to the business of wine, and they make for riveting reading. Wallace’s book has been one of my most enjoyable rediscoveries for this article (and podcast). I read it when it first came out, but re-reading this week has been hugely fun, and I devoured it in a few days. It tells the story of a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite that was supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson, that sold for US$156,000 at a Christies auction held by Michael Broadbent, and provides a crash course into the world of auctions, of high end wine collecting, of wine forgeries and the crazy world of the super rich.

Thirsty Dragon (Henry Holt, 2015) by Suzanne Mustacich is also worth looking out for – a fascinating look at the dominance of China in the Bordeaux wine world that captures a moment in time that now feels like a bygone era. This rightly won plenty of awards when it came out, for its forensic unpicking of exactly how quickly and comprehensively the Chinese market came to dominate the top end of the Bordeaux fine wine market, and how dangerously reliant many estates became on it.

Compilations
On Bordeaux (Académie du Vin Library 2020). A collection of writings over the past few centuries, from authors that are included on this page in various forms including Harry Waugh, Michael Broadbent, Steven Spurrier, Neal Martin, and others including Fiona Beckett and Baron Elie de Rothschild. It’s a great read, and gives, as I write in the introduction: “multi-layered, clear-eyed, moving and often extremely funny [this] collection of stories… celebrates, illuminates and renews our understanding of Bordeaux.” Read an extract here.

Novels
There must be lots of novels set in Bordeaux that I should be adding here, but one of my personal favourites has got to be The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick (Sphere, 2013). This is the first of a trilogy of novels about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and frankly I think they should all be required reading for anyone interested in Bordeaux wine – for the very simple reason that they are stupendously entertaining, and bring to life one of the most fascinating periods of southwestern France history. I dare you to not fall completely in love with Eleanor by the end of these books.

I would love to find a similarly page-turning novel about the time of Ausonius, Roman consul to Bordeaux, so if anyone can point me in the right direction, please do so. There is a history book, Ausonius of Bordeaux (Routledge 1993) that covers extracts of much of his writing and letters, but I am looking for something a little more easy to dive into… and no doubt far less accurate.

I have a recommendation here also from a sommelier friend of mine, Jeff Harding, that I have been meaning to read for a while, but will not pretend that I have done so yet… Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie (Quartet Books 2010), one of a series of ‘noir mysteries’ as Jeff puts it, set in 1940 and following string of murders attempted to be solved by Superintendent Lannes just as Bordeaux is swamped with refugees fleeing the Nazi’s arrival in Paris.

Finally in this category, a fantastic recommendation from Sarah Kemp for In the Vine Country by Edith Somerville and Martin Ross (republished Académie du Vin Library 2021, with a foreword by Victoria Moore). Set in the autumn of 1891, Anglo-Irish cousins and travelling companions, Edith Somerville and Martin Ross (aka Violet Florence Martin) journey through the Médoc at harvest time, observing with a mixture of wit and unabashed horror the customs of the locals, from the barefoot treading of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to sampling the local wines and trying to sound passably knowledgeable about the wines they are discovering. As Moore says, ‘It paints a glorious picture of Bordeaux, as seen through the skittish and mischievously observant eyes of Somerville and Ross ….’.

Food and Wine
67 Pall Mall Southwest France is a recent addition to this category, released in 2022, with some wonderful recipes drawn from ingredients around the Bordeaux region and down to the Spanish border. Lynch Bages & Cie (Glénat, 2014) is also a hidden gem, a mix of family history, Médoc history and recipes from the Cordeillan Bages hotel and restaurant. Available in English and French.

PLUS a special offer…
Académie du Vin is offering £5/$5 off using the code INSIDE23 on all their books.

AND that’s not all…
If you are interested in winning a copy of one of my books, email me at hello@janeanson.com with your address and why you are interested in a specific title – we will select winners at random (deadline Friday December 15), and do our very best to match you with your most wanted book. I just might throw in a few extra titles from the list here as well, it is Christmas after all!!