Customer Reviews

1855: A History of the Bordeaux Classification

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This book kept surprising me, ultimately being very satisfying. When I ordered it, it was a bit intimidating. I feared a mass of impenetrable details. Most of the book in fact is appendices.The 200 or so pages of narrative contains nice insights into 19th c French life, but also shows wine lovers a very different era, when, for instance, the shippers were more important than the wineries.The book has one interesting fact after another. Did you know that the 1855 was NOT official? That there were a zillion similar ones? That the whole purpose was to set a price structure in the 18th century?A great read for the wine lover who is into every last detail.

Here are your answers about Bordeaux, everything you'll ever want to know. Markham's book is both a great reference and an entertaining read; he manages to be thorough and detailed but at the same time write in lucid prose that goes down as easily as a well-aged wine. The illustrations and tables are terrific-- this is a book you can browse in on a cold winter night and learn all sorts of fascinating facts about Bordeaux grapes and the hills they grow in. This book forms the centerpiece on my wine bookshelf.