However, instead of simply putting the record straight and squashing the story, Parker hit out at bloggers and others in the forum on his website, which in turn is controlled with a heavy hand by one of the alleged guilty parties, Mark Squires.

I posted this comment, entitled ‘Has Parker lost the Plot?’ on Jancis Robinson’s ’subscribers only’ forum, following her article called ‘The ethics of wine writing‘:

“Has anyone else been following the link from Jancis’s perfectly-pitched article on ‘The ethics of wine writing’, to drvino.com? At first, Robert Parker squares off his own, much publicized rules (’It is imperative for a wine critic to pay his own way. Gratuitous hospitality in the form of airline tickets, hotel rooms, guest houses, should never be accepted…’) with those of some of his Wine Advocates (’I did tell Jay no more vineyard tours paid by Wines of Argentina’).

More amusing is the attack on bloggers and others, with Parker seeing himself, rather bizarrely, as the underdog. Look out for conspiracy theories about ‘this Jihad’, ‘blobbers’, ‘extremists’ and, er, Decanter magazine. Even the Taliban get a mention.

Riveting stuff.”

Jancis responded:

“I am jumping in here – some of you will understand why I am wary of stirring up anything Parker-related – simply to state my belief that the way we can all best benefit from this interweb thingy is to be as open as possible. Visitors to this forum and this site should feel quite free to link to any other sites and blogs, and comment on them.

I know the odd purple pager has been rather coy about mentioning other wine sites and/or apologised for linking to them, but I think the interesting issues raised in this thread show just how difficult, and probably counter-productive, it is to try to erect walls in cyberspace.

I shall return to this topic!”

I’m not convinced that we’ve seen the end of this either – unless, of course, our attention is diverted by the less important things in life, like a global Swine Flu pandemic.

Jane Anson’s report highlighted the fact that this exclusive label has been awarded to us for free, and that we’re celebrating ten years as the house wine at his restaurants.

‘Gordon Ramsay’s Selection’ includes two whites, a red and our rosé, all of which are served at his restaurants. All are currently available direct from our website, including a super mixed dozen.

On friday, the same day that the Decanter.com news item was published, we delivered a few cases to the Ramsay household for their post-London Marathon party today. Perhaps our new strapline should be ‘So good, Gordon drinks it at home’.

‘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.

If you’d like to leave a comment, or ask a question, feel free to do so below.

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.

“Two things surprised me about Bordeaux,” wrote Paul Shearer in an article in the Financial Times, back in June. “The first was the breathtaking beauty of the place. The second was the warmth of the welcome from the Bordelaises.”

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.

that sell direct to people at home in the UK? Of course, you could order wine from a foreign vineyard and have it sent over, at some cost, and pay duty and VAT as it comes through Customs (that’s the law, folks). But does anyone do that, and do you get caught for the duty?

In the Gazette article I discuss how the high rate of UK Duty has an impact on cheap house wines in restaurants – the duty costs more than the wine itself. Have you ever wondered why UK restaurants charge at least £14 for a bottle of wine now? The full Gazette article – Darling goes over the top – is included in this blog.

It then dawned on me that I had been set up by a chap on the phone, a few weeks back, who was trying to chisel a good price out of me for a new venture. The person ‘posing as a potential buyer’ in the article – he said he was called David – was going to start up a new establishment, and it was clear that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. (Even the calculations in the article don’t add up.) I felt rather sorry for him when I wished him good luck at the end of the call. As stings go, it was hardly Sven and the fake sheikh.

I said to Rupert that, on the contrary, our wine was too cheap in the restaurant. After all, top restaurants need to make a 66% gross margin. The refurbishment of The Seafood Restaurant earlier this year cost a seven figure sum which didn’t start with the number 1. £19 for a bottle there for a wine that’s sold by the vineyard for £8? ‘No wonder it’s so popular in the restaurant’, I said.  Victoria Moore, the Guardian’s wine correspondent, cited Château Bauduc Bordeaux blanc as being good value for £18.50 at The Seafood more than three years ago. More to the point, try booking a table.

(I see that the trade price quoted in the article for our Bordeaux Blanc equates to 20% off our retail price, ex VAT. So, yes, if a very famous chef who’s on TV approaches us and offers to buy hundreds of cases a year direct from the chateau, we’ll consider a 20% discount. That seems fair, doesn’t it?)

It’s hardly bad press to be mentioned in the context of leading chefs, and it turned out that messrs Ramsay and Stein were not the real culprits after all. That dastardly Raymond Blanc and the naughty Heston Blumenthal were the worst, even if they can boast two and three Michelin stars respectively and each has hosted a successful TV series or two. Even his nibs Jamie Oliver (our Sophie’s pin-up) took an undeserved kicking.

Oddly enough, the chef that Gordon Ramsay once told me was the only one that we could not sell to if we wanted to continue doing business, Anthony Worrall-Thompson, was the cook accusing his fellow restaurateurs of being “greedy”. I may be biased, but of all the places and wines mentioned, Worrall-Thompson’s The Lamb and his Chilean sauvignon for £13 (cost ex-cellars around £1.70, plus UK duty, shipping and merchant’s profit margin), would be the last on my wish-list. Or am I missing something?