Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday, 30 March 2012

Robert Parker's investigation 'now complete'

Robert Parker@WineFuture Hong Kong

According to a post on 28th March 2012 by Robert Parker on the erobert bulletin board the Campo-Miller investigation has finished and he is awating the final report. 

 

From: 'What is the status of TWA's investigation into alleged Pancho Campo pay-to-taste?' thread


‘This investigative report is going to be like 3,000 pages long based on how long it is taking...’

RP: 28th March 2012
'Matt...frustrating it has taken this long, but the number of people they have inteviewed has been considerable...I was told it would be done a month ago...it is finished as of a few days ago, and I am anxiously awaiting the dossier which I hope actually reveals something substantive after all this time and expense....as I said last year, we took these allegations very seriously, have got top professionals on both sides of the Atlantic, and will provide a report on this BB, and implement any suggestions they offer...I don't want to rush to judgement on either wine or peoples' lives/reputations....'


My thanks to the person who kindly sent this to me and who commented:  

'There is a delicious irony in this:

I don't want to rush to judgement on either wine or peoples' lives/reputations...."

Given how he treated you in this……….

Will be fascinating to see what comes of all this!!'

**  

Kroll Associates
I was contacted by Julian Grijns of Kroll Associates by email late on 20th March and we had a phone conversation on 21st March. Julian acknowledged that Harold Heckle and I had assisted the investigation when requested and that our cooperation would be noted in the final report. There was no mention of wanting to have a meeting.  

To date I 'this blogger' have received no explanation or apology from Robert Parker for the claims made on his bulletin board that I was 'reluctant to talk' (14.2.2012) and that they had been trying to set up a meeting with me since December 2011 (15.2.2012). It is disappointing that Parker appears not to be 'big enough' nor have the grace to apologise. He made claims, particularly in respect to 'reluctance' to talk, that he had good reason to know were nonsense.

**

See also an article in Spanish on Campogate here by Andrés Proensa and Raquel Pardo, which includes an exploration of some of the options available to the Institute of Masters of Wine in their investigation into the conduct of Pancho Campo MW:

Campogate
Pancho MW, bajo la lupa
Madrid, 27 de marzo de 2012. RP-AP.

1 comment:

Justin Roberts said...

Jim,

I was just wondering. Were you ever approached by the IMW with a similar request for information?