A Good Year (novel)
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| Author | Peter Mayle |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Published | 2004 |
A Good Year is a 2004 novel by English writer Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence and Chasing Cézanne. The story follows Max Skinner, a London stockbroker, who loses his job before finding out that he inherited a vineyard in France from his late uncle Henry.
Max Skinner is a moderately successful trader in a City finance house. After spending several months compiling a lucrative trade contract, only to have it taken over by his immediate superior, he resigns, losing his car, income, and expected bonus, leaving him with considerable debts. The same day he receives a letter from a notary in France, telling him his uncle Henry has just died, bequeathing him his estate in Provence. This is Le Griffon, a house and vineyard where Max had spent much of his childhood. After discussing the matter with his friend Charlie Willis, an estate agent and wine enthusiast, and with a substantial loan from him, Max travels to France to investigate the inheritance with a view to becoming a wine producer.
After meeting the notary, the attractive Nathalie Auzet, Max discovers a large but down-at-heel house, with 20 acres of vineyard. However the house needs repair, the soil thin and dry, especially a stony patch on the edge of the estate, and the wine a poor quality; “like gendarmes socks”, as he tells Charlie later. He makes several excuses to spend time with Nathalie, taking her to lunch to discuss improving the wine, and later to an antique fair to check the possibilities of selling off some of the furniture. He meets Roussel, the vigneron, who laments the state of the wine, blaming lack of investment. Max proposes to call in a oenologue to advise on improving the wine, which disturbs Roussel somewhat. Max also finds a picture of Henry with an American woman, who he doesn't recognize.
The story cuts to Bordeaux, where a wine merchant, Fitzgerald, is hosting an exclusive wine tasting for a specialist wine, Le Coin Perdu, a fine quality, but a small production (600 cases) to be sold at prices of E40,000 per case.
Back at Le Griffon, Max is visited by a young American woman, Christie Roberts, who tells him Henry was her father. Max confirms this by showing her the picture, in which she identifies her mother. Max suggests the inheritance may be hers, not his, and they consult a lawyer, Maitre Bosc. He tells them it is a grey area, and could take months to resolve; in the meantime they should both stay at Le Griffon, to avoid abandoning their claim. Under the same roof Max and Christie are soon at loggerheads, ending when she hits him with a skillet during an argument, knocking him unconscious.
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