With last year’s bicentennial of the battle of Waterloo, a lot of people have been banging on about Napoleon Bonaparte being a tactical genius who never lost a battle to a weaker force. Which is all very well – but hardly anyone touches upon the more interesting topic of what he liked to drink.
Napoleon’s first commission, at the ripe old age of 16, was as a 2nd Lieutenant in the La Frère Artillery regiment based in Valance-sur-Rhône. He is reputed to have acquired a penchant for the local sparkling wine of Saint-Péray which is entirely plausible but sadly not well-documented. What is certain is that during a subsequent posting to Auxonne in Burgundy he developed an enduring taste for Gevrey-Chambertin which was his wine of choice on all of his subsequent military campaigns. Apparently he consumed half a bottle at lunch and dinner which he habitually diluted with water. He favoured a Grand Cru bottling at about 5-6 years of age from the négociant house of Soupé & Pirreugues, and is alleged to have cursed the Cossacks for commandeering his personal supplies after his bitter defeat in Russia in 1812.
The Countess of Serrant was lady in waiting to the Empress Josephine and the prestigious dry white Chenin Blanc of ‘Coulée de Serrant’ from her estate in Savennières was regularly served at court during their marriage.
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