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.

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.