BEST
OF BORDEAUX
Château Margaux
By Nicholas Faith
(Éditions Flammarion, $50)
Reviewed
by Nancy Huang
Simply
to have a bottle of Château Margaux on your dining room
table is not just a declaration of your love for Bordeaux, but
a show of reverence to one of the pillars of French wine. In Château
Margaux, author and financial journalist Nicholas Faith pays homage
to this famous vineyard and its long and storied heritage. Starting
in the 17th century with the purchase of the land by the Lestonnac
family, Faith traces the history and "renaissance" of
the estate, its land and its people to the château's present-day
manager, Corinne Mentzelopoulos. Also included is a detailed description
of the vineyard's wine and winemaking techniques, as well as essays
from architect Jean Dethier and master sommeliers George Lepre,
Markus Del Monego and Shinya Tasaki. Detailed tasting notes from
every vintage since 1945 round out the hefty 160-page book.
Beautiful,
crisp photographs adorn nearly every page of the book, enough
so that it makes you wonder whether the entire tome could have
been solely photos and captions. Although far from a good read,
should the text catch your eye, you'll find a comprehensive but
biased chronicle of events. Noticeably missing from the book is
any mention of the conflict between French and California wines
that took place in the late 70s and early 80s, when California
wines won over famous French labels in a number of tastings, including
the famous Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 and the Ottawa Wine Tasting
of 1981. Although Château Margaux did not participate in
the former, its famed 1970 vintage came in next to last in Ottawa.
But such editorial omissions are easy to overlook, especially
considering the history of Margaux's well-respected wines. If
anything, use the book to expand your Bordeaux collection—for
starters, we recommend searching out the 1990, 2000 and 2003 vintages.
(Published:
02/23/06)
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