When the Rothschilds waged a claret class war

Claret has a commercial advantage over Burgundy. Thanks to the grandes lignes of châteaux and vintages, you know where you are. A mature and well-kept claret from a good year is unlikely to disappoint. That is why new wine drinkers, seeking certainty, are drawn to Bordeaux. Burgundy is much more complicated. Like the railway lines of the southern region, it is a cat’s cradle of cuvées, domaines and growers.

For the natives, there can be advantages. Old Alphonse has half an acre next to Vosne-Romanée. Instead of putting the grapes in with his Bourgogne rouge, he bottles them separately for family and friends. Lucky them. In 1981, covering the French elections, I went to La Rôtisserie du Chambertin (now, alas, closed) with a friend who understood the French left. Given the location, the red was an easy choice: a 1969 Chambertin-Clos de Bèze: one of the best wines I have ever drunk.