A yes to Bordeaux

I read Dr Lalancette’s letter in Decanter’s January issue with great interest. As a younger wine aficionado, my first forays into Bordeaux involved long trips in my battered old car, camping in weather as hot as hell, reserving all my cash to buy the best wine I could. But curiosity and tenacity were richly rewarded when I found vineyards in St-Emilion and its neighbouring villages offering wine of value and quality (that made tent-sleeping in dodgy French campsites almost tolerable). In this way my collection began.

Part of the pleasure in finding wines that leave you awestruck and spellbound is the chase, the act of trying more and more until you find ‘the one’. In this dogged pursuit of excellence, satisfaction lies; in Bordeaux, satisfaction lies. But if one doesn’t have inexhaustible funds, it takes time and patience.

And here’s the crux. Bordeaux is not seeking to connect with the younger generation, the generation of instant gratification and Instagram money shots. It has no need to capture the zeitgeist nor to permeate the consciousness with gimmicks and fads. Bordeaux transcends fashion. Market economics, backed up by a long heritage of structured, deep, harmonious wines that age (yes, age!) with grace and dignity, ensure that Bordeaux speaks for itself. Nowadays, one can find keenly priced Bordeaux through platforms such as Berry Bros’ BBX and Wine Owners. I’ve found some incredible bargains.

So, I urge you to stick with it. It will reward you. It will take time and you won’t be the trendiest drinker among your friends. But then I’ve never followed fashion and I now have 20-year-old bottles I have laid down waiting to prove to me that they were worth it. As Samuel Johnson said: ‘He who aspires to be a serious wine drinker must drink claret.’

Paul Mckelvey, Chester, Cheshire