Bordeaux 2023 at Two Years
Let me introduce you to John Landy.
Of course, you may already know John. A leading middle- and long-distance runner of the mid-20th century, if you have an interest in athletics, or some knowledge of Australian sporting heroes, you may recognise him. And perhaps rattle off one or two of his achievements.
To the majority of readers, though, I suspect his name will be unfamiliar.
Born in Melbourne in Victoria, as a youngster John Landy (1930 – 2022) enjoyed playing Australian rules football, and perhaps he could have made his name in that discipline. While studying at the University of Melbourne, however, he developed a much greater interest in running, particularly over middle distances. Joining a local athletics club in 1949, his times were such that he made the Australian Olympic team in 1952.
It was at the 1952 Olympics that Landy met and befriended Emil Zátopek (1922 – 2000), the legendary Czech runner. If you ever thought a winemaker or wine critic showed an extreme dedication to their craft, ponder for a moment the practices of Zátopek. An advocate of brutal training methods, Zátopek popularised interval training, and was known for running while breath-holding, an unconventional technique which would see him run to the point where he was so hypoxic he would black out.
This is not something I have ever seen at the press tastings during the Bordeaux primeurs, but I would be willing to give tasting while breath-holding a try if the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux were to introduce it as part of a more competitive slant to the primeurs program. Who among the most renowned Bordeaux critics, I wonder, would be the first to pass out?
