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The Complete Bordeaux: The Wines*The Chateaux*The People (Mitchell Beazley Wine Library)

The Complete Bordeaux: The Wines*The Chateaux*The People (Mitchell Beazley Wine Library)
By Stephen Brook

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Product Description

This high-level yet readable analysis of one of the world’s most respected wine regions has been expanded; the first edition dealt only with the left bank, and this new edition adds coverage of the south bank of the river Bordeaux. It is an all-embracing, comprehensive volume by an award-winning wine writer. Brook, whose books have received such prestigious awards as the Prix du Champagne Lanson, Glenfiddich, and Veuve Clicquot prizes, provides insider information about how the great Médoc, Graves, and other world-famous Bordeaux wines are produced, from the red Pauillac Cabernet Sauvignons to the sweet Sauterne whites. Detailed maps and photos cover the most famous châteaux and communes, as well as smaller specialists and newcomers worth watching.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #52575 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-11-01
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 720 pages

Customer Reviews

AN EXCEPTIONAL VOLUME5
The Complete Bordeaux: The Wines*The Chateaux*The People (Mitchell Beazley Wine Library)

Whilst Stephen Brook is not the best known author in the world of fine wine, his recent book is certainly likely to put him irrevocably on the best seller list in this field. Whether read by the novice or professional, the reader cannot help but be informed as never before on the fascination of wine as it is in Bordeaux. Massive, previously unknown detail contains a veritable mine of invaluable information on properties, production methods, vintages and personalities. The seven hundred pages are crammed with interest from beginning to end. The only downside is that the type size is too small for those inclined to short-sightedness. Buy, buy, buy!!

Currently, the best book on Bordeaux wine5
Stephen Brook released the first part of this book, which was devoted to Médoc and Graves, in 2006, and it won the André Simon Award. This volume includes that material and also includes material on Sauternes and the Right Bank. Currently, this is the most comprehensive and most up to date reference book covering the wines of Bordeaux.

There are over 700 pages of densely printed type, with about a thousand detailed profiles of estates. Brook has visited many of the estates, and he conveys love and enthusiasm for the wines, the people, the vineyards and the geography of the region.

The book begins with a very good chapter on `The Land' (including terroir, grape varieties and vititulture), a helpful chapter on `Winemaking and Style' and an excellent chapter on the Bordeaux wine market.

In the main section, Brook describes the important appellations with a general introduction, followed by a description and assessment of each of the estates covered in the book, including statistics, contact details and websites. Here Brook cautions the reader: "[T]he statistics - even when obtained directly from the estates - can be wildly unreliable...."

Brook does not provide formal tasting notes: "other writers - notably Robert Parker, Clive Coates MW, Michael Broadbent, Michel Bettane - have already done so. ... I have, in the case of important properties, given a more detailed account of the vintages I have tasted, so that the reader can gain some notion of what the wines are like to drink."

In a recent interview he described his general approach: "Existing books on Bordeaux, such as Robert Parker's or Clive Coates's, were focused on tasting notes of individual wines, and paid little attention to lesser known areas of Bordeaux which offer good value to consumers. My book was intended to rectify that by including all regions of Bordeaux, as its title suggests. Many winelovers who might have bought Bordeaux routinely in the past may have become disillusioned by the soaring prices of the top growths, and it was part of my intention to discuss the vast number of excellent wines that remain eminently affordable." The entire interview appears on intowine.com and provides a very interesting expansion of Brook's views on the wines of Bordeaux.

(Brook is referring to Bordeaux: A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines by Robert Parker and The Wines of Bordeaux: Vintages and Tasting Notes 1952-2003 by Clive Coates.)

Brook's text is very well written, but the color illustrations add little of value. The maps for Médoc and Graves are quite good, but those for the Right Bank are tiny and hard to read, especially with the topographical shading.

"Decanter Magazine" also pointed out that "The two Graves maps are misplaced (and one is mistitled) within the text, and there are a fair number of inaccurate locations: Léoville-Las-Cases, Gruaud-Larose, St Pierre. ... There are also some needless errors: Mouton Rothschild was not a first growth until 1973, Yquem is a premier cru supérieur, not a premier grand cru. Details maybe, but in an authoritative reference book they matter."

The criticisms are minor; this is currently the leading reference work on Bordeaux and its wines.


Robert C. Ross 2007 2008