‘How was your trip?’ I asked. ‘You’re the first living people we’ve seen’ was James’s first dejected remark to us, after their long drive south to Bordeaux. Their Wine Adventure had begun.

In hindsight, it would have been better not to mention the price of a bottle as it dates very quickly. £6.50? These were the heady days when the exchange rate was 1.47 euros to the pound, and UK duty on a bottle was a lot less.

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You can also do this on YouTube by clicking on the video window above. While we’re on the subject of YouTube, it’s difficult not to laugh at this clip from a more recent episode.

Fair to say that by this stage in their relationship, they were letting their hair down.

Oz kindly agreed to sign a stack of books for our customers this November, each with a personal dedication, so an offer to Bauduc customers by email is imminent (to be included, go to ‘Chateau Bauduc’ above and sign up for the email newsletter, or contact me, as above).

Some serious players turned out for the launch in the wine bar at the CIVB, including Alain Vauthier of Chateau Ausone (pictured with Oz, and Madame Mitjaville of Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf), Alan Sichel, the head of the Union des Maisons (negociants) de Bordeaux, and Sylvie Cazes-Regimbeau, President of the Union des Grands Crus.

Afterwards, I had dinner with Oz, his publisher and his wife, and his long-suffering assistant Fiona at Café Gourmand near Les Grands Hommes. Oz and I had both eaten here before but we didn’t realise that it had recently changed hands. Stylish French cooking has given way to a Franco-American brasserie, with burgers on the menu alongside French classics. It almost works, but not quite. Although he didn’t want to order the Chateau Clarke 2003, it was the best value on the wine list. Unsubtle and punchy – a hearty drop from a roasty toasty vintage. I was reminded of Stephen Brook’s comment on this estate in Listrac in his excellent book, The Complete Bordeaux: ‘It has proved a difficult property to manage. The Rothschilds may, after years of costly investment, have realized why the property had been abandoned’.

Both books should be on every Bordeaux lover’s bookshelf – and they won’t look out of place on the smartest coffee tables.