Jane Anson's articles
France’s century old oaks
It's hovering around freezing in the forest, but without the snow that has been falling in Paris and much of northern France this week. The small crowd of winemakers stamp their feet, digging in their pockets for gloves.
DNA mapping Bordeaux wines tantalizingly close
Ten years ago, the quays of Bordeaux were outcasts to the city proper. Buildings blackened from car exhausts and industrial waste, a line of warehouses blocking the view of the Garonne river that had nourished and supported the city for much of i
Bordeaux, R&D capital
2013 has begun with the death of one of the great, although unsung, names of Bordeaux wine: Bernard Donèche. Not an owner of any great Médoc chateau, nor the zillionth generation of a famous Bordeaux lineage, but an academic who preferred to rema
Wine resolutions
If you’re reading this in early January, thinking about your wine resolutions for 2013, you will not be alone. Most of us who love wine will spend at least a short time selecting a style or a producer that we would like to know better over the co
Lurton family wines
Family businesses, it seems redundant to point out, are something of a prized asset in French wine. You have the Pol Roger family in Champagne, which heads back to the early 19th century, the Hugels in Alsace, who can trace their roots back to th
Peter Kwok: the first Chinese purchaser in Bordeaux, 15 years on...
'When I first bought Château Haut-Brisson, back in 1997, I had no idea that 15 years later I would have quite so many Chinese neighbours.' Peter Kwok, speaking from his immaculate apartment in one of Hong Kong's most exclusive areas, smiles broad
The perfume of wine
[Jane Anson] We live in a largely visual world. Around 60% of our stimulus comes from sight, with 20% from hearing, 10% touch, 9% smell and just 1% from taste. This might seem to put wine tasters at a bit of a disadvantage, and is certainly why so we have
Libourne, Pu’er to jointly market tea, wine
A commercial and cultural accord has been signed between Libourne, the closest city to the Pomerol and Saint Emilion vineyards in Bordeaux, and Pu’er, a high quality tea-producing region in the Yunnan province of southwest China.
Chinese owner of Bellefont-Belcier confirmed
As reported on DecanterChina.com in September 2012, Saint Emilion’s Chateau Bellefont Belcier has now confirmed its sale to a Chinese industrialist, bringing the total of Bordeaux vineland in Chinese hands to 440 hectares.
Musical chairs in Bordeaux
Two high profile departures from Bordeaux estates have been announced over the past month – Sylvie Cazes from Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande and Jean-Guillaume Prats from Chateau Cos d’Estournel, both 2nd Growths from the 1855 classification.