Wine Book Club 2: Noble Rot

First, I would like to commend Tim from Winecast for his superb choice in material for the second Wine Book Club, created by Dr. Debs.  From the first sitting with Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson, I knew it was going to be a good read. An engaging writing style pulled me in immediately, at a time when I rarely browse books for pleasure.  So even though this was for ‘an assignment’ and I was learning about one of the most important and confusing wine regions in the world, it didn’t feel like forced learning. In fact, that was one of my favorite things about the book—that Echikson rather seemlessly slipped fact tidbits into the story, informing the novice who might not know some of the basics but without boring someone who does. Of course, the searching went much deeper than the nuts and bolts.  I came away from this book with a much better understanding of the differences between the Left Bank(austere, steeped in tradition) and Right Bank (not as much rigidity, more likely to accept new ideas and newcomers) and the in between of Entre-Deux-Mers, with its presence of overproducing co-ops. I learned more about the classification of 1855, the solitude of Sauternes, battles over futures, and fights among merchants and winemakers. I found women to be scarce, except for serving dinner or calming their feuding husbands.  

I also learned more about Robert Parker, which comes just in time to teach my Be Your Own Critic seminar in May. I’ve come around to the idea that scores are fine, but you need to understand the style of the critic instead of following blindly.  Reading about Parker’s simple upbringing, dedication to purchasing his own wines, not accepting advertisements on Wine Advocate, and loyalty to friends all served to make me a little more accepting of his massive power.  Like some of the Frenchies in the book, I resist his influence, wondering how one man can wield such control over the wine world and make Bordeaux fall to its knees. And yet those same people who protest… raise their prices when he gives high scores.

Another thing I found interesting on the Parker front was that while some winemakers argue that you can’t assign a numerical value to something as subjective as wine, they themselves are obsessed with how much they can charge for a bottle. And how even the 1855 classification was based on the cost of the wines over time. Scores and prices are both just numbers.  Isn’t that a different yet similar quantification?

The whole value thing leads me to another observation about Noble Rot.  Status symbols.  I can deal with the grandeur of the chateau or the size of the salary. Not being a car person myself,though, I don’t really care what someone drives.  But Echikson seems to care. A lot.  Everyone is speeding through Bordeaux in a Mercedes, BMW, or if they combine their resources and love for speed, a Ferrari.  As a writer, I appreciate attention to detail, but I started to tire of those vehicular mentions, after a while. 

Quibbles aside, the main area where I think the book could have improved was with some better organizational tactics.  While I appreciated how the stories wove together, especially since some of the characters like Michel Rolland had influence all over the place, the back and forth could be a little confusing at times. Sometimes, I had to flip back to see which wine Jean-Luc Thunevin made (Valandraud) or which Chateau Michel Gracia worked on (Cheval Blanc) or where Yves Vatelot invested and consulted (Lascombes). I think some kind of flow chart would have been helpful, with such a mish-mosh of names and estates and men who worked on well-established wines as well as their own garage efforts.  But maybe that’s just me.

In wrapping up, I think the title for this book was more appropriate than I first figured.  After all, Sauternes is only one small portion of what comes out of Bordeaux.  However, it was the storyline of Alexandre Lur-Saluces that got me most antsy, often wanting to reach through the pages and wring his neck.  Spending inordinate amounts of money on lavish parties and psychologist fees while profits plunder, not allowing journalists to taste from the barrel, firing folks on a whim, and taking advantage of his brother and family…what a scoundrel.  And a classic example of corruption. 

Meanwhile, the rest of Bordeaux and its nobile ideals are rotting, as well, much of it for the good.  Winemakers realize they can’t rest on their laurels, that reputation only goes so far.  And if the prices keep rising, a fall is inevitable. Besides, there is plenty of wine available elsewhere, without all the drama.