Oz Clarke's Bordeaux: The Wines, the Vineyards, the Winemakers

This is a beautiful book. Great color photos, useful maps. Clearly this is written by someone who not only loves the wine but loves and is familiar with the region. It is nostalgic but also gives a huge amount of information. Great for coffetables or at the bedside.

Clarke's book is a must for anyone interested in learning more about Bordeaux. His passion and jovial approach to the subject made it a page-turner, and also a resource manual. Actually, I have purchased many wines based on his reviews contained within the book. My only slight criticism is the way in which he rated almost every year from every vineyard as being "their best years." That certainly cannot be and I would have rather had him be a little more critical, and less diplomatic. That could simply be the difference between myself and American, and Mr. Clarke, a Brit.... :). Great book, do buy it.

This is a superb book for the wine enthusiast, combining a travel guide to the Bordeaux region, primer on the growing and production process, and guide to the various appellations. It is especially useful for the wine enthusiast like me, who has some basic knowledge but no real expertise. It would be very useful in planning a trip to the region, and I plan to try it out later this year.

It's been a pleasure to read a book like this in english. It is very descriptive (a "must" for a book like this), although not to the grade of being short-minded; on the contrary, it is very useful.