Episode 388 of I’ll Drink to That! was released recently and features Jane Anson,the Bordeaux correspondent for Decanter magazine. She also has a book coming out that she collaborated on, called “The Club of Nine.”
Jane Anson has been living in the Bordeaux region for over a decade, and she has written multiple books that have found her pouring over the archives of top chateau of the region for background notes. In this discussion, she combines a historical perspective with boots-on-the-ground observation. The Chinese came and went as Bordeaux futures buyers recently, but Jane doesn’t see an anomaly in that so much as an inevitability: drawing on her research, she says that Bordeaux has always moved in boom and bust cycles, and that Bordeaux also always been the wine choice of newly rich. Nor has the sharp change been the first disaster to hit the Bordeaux area: she notes several hard times in Bordeaux’s past, as well as some of the historical precursors to the situation we see today. The negociant system for Bordeaux is much remarked upon as an artifact in these times, but how did it get started in the first place? And what advantages did it historically bring? Jane supplies the answers. She also comments at length on the current market situation, which she describes in terms Charles Dickens might approve of: a tale of two cities, with some chateau riding high while others struggle. How did we get here and in which sub-areas of Bordeaux are the differences felt most acutely? Jane explains in the interview. Her answers will delight anyone who is interested in Bordeaux’s current situation and wants to understand it better with an eye also to historical context.
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I’ll Drink to That is the world’s most listened-to wine podcast, hosted by Levi Dalton. Levi has had a long career working as a sommelier in some of the most distinguished and acclaimed dining rooms in America. He has served wine to guests of Restaurant Daniel, Masa, and Alto, all in Manhattan. Levi has also contributed articles on wine themes to publications such as The Art of Eating, Wine & Spirits magazine, Bon Appetit online, and Eater NY. Check out his pictures on Instagram and follow him on Twitter: @leviopenswine.
