Appreciation

Left Bank Bordeaux is Cabernet on gravel, Right Bank is Merlot on clay and limestone. Here is what that means in the glass, at the table and in the cellar, from a family estate on the Right Bank.

Claret is the British name for red Bordeaux, and we make it ourselves on the Right Bank. Here is where the word comes from, what claret tastes like and how to choose a good one.

On 1 August 2026 we opened sixty consecutive vintages, from 1966 to 2025, and tasted them side by side. Here is what that taught us about the best Bordeaux vintages, the years that surprised everyone and the ones worth buying now.

In December 1986 Roald Dahl wrote to us from Gipsy House to say he kept Château Méaume among 600 cases of claret and served it every Sunday to his snooker friends. This is the story of that letter.