Book review: Grand Crus Classés, Grands Chefs Etoilés

Grand Crus Classés, Grands Chefs Etoilés
By: Sophie Brissaud, photo Cyril le Tourneur d’Ison & Iris Sullivan, plus many contributing chefs and sommeliers
Publisher: Editions de la Martinière

It’s logical. This is a book made to impress, about wines made to impress, and about food designed to impress. It weighs in at 3 kg, almost 400 pages, so it will certainly not pass unnoticed. The book is about 87 of the “grand crus” of Bordeaux, produced in collaboration with the Conseil des Grands Crus Classés. Each of the chateaux covered in the book is presented with a profile describing some of its history as well as some technical details about the wines. To each wine there is a matching dish, designed and prepared by a Michelin-starred chef (a different chef for each wine), presented with a detailed recipe. It’s the ultimate coffee table book, or should one say wine cabinet book in this case. All is lavishly illustrated of course. Perhaps it is a book to leisurely leaf through, a book designed to create dreams and desires?

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