The Britishness of Bordeaux

Burgundy or Bordeaux? We were discussing that unending question during dinner over the weekend. I think that there is only one answer: ‘Yes.’ ‘But which, you clot?’ ‘Either. Better still, both.’

It is so much a matter of sentiment, and of which great bottle you have been lucky enough to drink most recently. But there is an argument, which is nothing to do with quality, that Bordeaux – claret – is more British. This is as true in North Britain as in England. There are various versions of a well-known piece of doggerel. My favourite is: ‘Proud and erect the Caledonian stood / Auld was his mutton but his claret good.’ Even before the ’45 and the crushing of the clans, chieftains in some of the most inaccessible parts of the Highlands often surprised visitors by the riches of their cellars.

In Bordeaux, 2003 was not much of a year and we were expecting to be reminded why

These days, the cellars will still be well-furnished, as the successors of the clan chiefs relearn the old lesson: that it is easy to make a small fortune in the Highlands. You merely have to start with a large one.

It may be that whereas Bordeaux is more Atlantic, Burgundy is nearer to central Europe and a Mediterranean culture. It may also be that the Rosbifs seem more at ease with Bordeaux than with Burgundy because Gascony used to belong to the Crown.

I recently discussed this with a French friend. He was torn between contempt for Emmanuel Macron as a human being and a belief that some of his reforms were essential but would almost certainly fail. Enthralled by the coronation, he was almost ready to agree that France was a failed state which had never recovered from the murder of Louis XV1. ‘Why don’t you come back to England?’ I asked.