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Rating: 
Summary: Intense is good, Condensed is not
Review: Clive Coates is a charming and often acerbic British writer who happily flaunts convention in his monthly wine newsletter by eschewing any form of number rating (no stars, no points, no grades). His ratings are terms like "fine" and "very fine indeed," which may or may not be helpful to many American readers, but there's no doubting his expertise and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, his tone often gets preachy and borders on snobbism though, in some of his other books (especially his valuable tome on Burgundy), the judgements are still precise and well-researched. This book is precise as far as it goes, but it doesn't go very far. By attempting to cover all the wine properties of France, even the best ones are invariably dismissed in a few lines rather than explored in depth (two short paragraphs on Chateau Latour and just one for Chateau Lafite, for rexample). It's the USA Today of wine reporting, and terse, short paragraphs just don't suit Coates' expansive style even if he does award 1-3 stars for key properties. For the same money, you can get Jancis Robinson's excellent Oxford Companion to Wine, a much better and more detailed reference, or Andrea Immer's exceptional wine course for anyone interested in the basics.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book by a Master on the subject of French wines
Review: Clive Coates is rightly considered one of the top experts on the wines of France because, together with Michael Broadbent, he holds the widest tasting experience of its wines, both chronologically and geografically. He also does an excellent job at sharing his great knowledge, through his newsletter (The Vine) and his books.
The Encyclopedia dispenses short but accurate and up-to-date information about all aspects of French wine, from appellations and geografical aspects, to specific wines and domaines. While the book obviously doesn't aim at providing in depth information about every single region and domain it mentions (that would take at least 30 volumes!), it surely is the most accurate introduction to the subject of French wines available today. The content is provided in a very clear and precise manner, the maps are excellent, and Coates' point of view is as usual very reliable, while at the same time absolutely impermeable to fashions and distortions, not to mention plain ignorance, so typical of today's wine journalism.
For those interested in more in depth information, I suggest his beautiful books Côte D'Or and Grands Vins, which focus respectively on Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Definitely an excellent guide for those approaching the subject of French wine, and a must have for serious scholars of French wine.
Rating:
Summary: Master of Wine, indeed
Review: This is an excellent encyclopedia of knowledge about French wine. It is personal, of course, but after sampling some of Coates' recommendations I can start to believe in the rest of them and feel it would be a very useful accompaniment on visits to the local wine store! The maps are beautifully simple and, taken together with the book "Terroir" these two books alone will provide an excellent basic library for the understanding of why French wines are (a) the best and (b) why some French wines are better than others!
Rating:
Summary: Master of Wine, indeed
Review: This is an excellent encyclopedia of knowledge about French wine. It is personal, of course, but after sampling some of Coates' recommendations I can start to believe in the rest of them and feel it would be a very useful accompaniment on visits to the local wine store! The maps are beautifully simple and, taken together with the book "Terroir" these two books alone will provide an excellent basic library for the understanding of why French wines are (a) the best and (b) why some French wines are better than others!
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