Robert Parker: 'yet to get Budd in a sit-down face to face' Who has tried please?

'Blogger Budd won't talk to us!!'

In a further post (02.15.2012) on his bulletin board Robert Parker has suggested that his various teams of lawyers have been trying to arrange a 'sit-down face to face' with me since the beginning of December:

'This is why I have hired lawyers as well as the international firm of KROLL conducting investigations and interviews....and they have doing this since the beginning of December, and have yet to get Budd in a sit-down face to face. Hopefully he can find the time this week as I would like to bring this matter to a conclusion. I suggest everyone would be prudent to wait for the final report we will share with subscribers, and make your own judgments based on what has been a very thorough analysis of allegations we have taken very seriously.'

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Good morning Mr Parker,

Re: 'a sit-down face to face' (Alice in Maryland?)

I'm afraid I find this increasingly mystifying and bizarre. You are absolutely right to say that your lawyers 'have yet to get Budd in a sit-down face to face' for the very simple reason that no-one has asked me. No-one from Cozen O'Connor, Kroll or even The Wine Advocate has to date contacted me to ask for a 'face to face' meeting or even a phone interview. Yesterday I set out in full my correspondence with Stephen Miller.

I will admit to being more than a trifle perplexed. I hope your lawyers haven't been telling you that they have tried without success to set up a meeting with me. If they have been trying to contact me, I can only assume they rely on pigeon post, smoke signals or perhaps, clairvoyance. Please ask them instead to use email and I can provide a contact number. Alternatively I can be reached on Skype.

Following your earlier erroneous comment that I have been 'been reluctant to talk with us, I emailed Stephen Miller of Cozen O'Connor yesterday morning asking for clarification and copied you and The Wine Advocate in. To date I have had no response or acknowledgement from anyone. Sadly not a surprise that you haven't responded as you haven't acknowledged any of the several emails I have sent you starting from 23rd November 2011.

Unless you have evidence to the contrary I would be most grateful if you would make it clear on your bulletin board that you were mistaken to suggest that I have been reluctant to talk and that no attempt has yet been made to set up a meeting with me.

Kind regards

'This blogger'/ 'blogger Budd'

Duo of crus communaux + Finkus Bripp interviews 'This blogger'

Finkus Bripp: "Can anyone tell me why I've got a camera growing out of

my ear and a shade attached to my cap? I thought I did the off-beat stuff!"

Plenty of entertaining this weekend that gave me the opportunity to try out some more of the Muscadet crus communaux and to gauge people's reactions to them.

First on Saturday evening we had friends over for dinner. The willingness of our recently opened fishmongers and butchers – Billings – to take orders prompted me to opt for a first course of mulet aux olives et au vin blanc (grey mullet with olives and white wine) served cold. This simple recipe comes from Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking and used to be one of my regular dishes in the days when Richards, a fine fishmonger in Brewer Street in the heart of London's Soho still existed. Sadly this shop along with others like Hamburger (also on Brewer Street specialising in a variety of smoked fish) and Gomez Ortega (a wonderful Spanish grocers on nearby Old Compton Street) have long gone. Grey mullet came hard to find. The dish is very easy to make but served cold and decorated with thin slices of lime and lemon can look pretty impressive. As an experiment we offered the option of some Polish horseradish sauce bought from Topolski in Druid Street. It worked well.

2006 Monnières Saint-Fiacre, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine

With the mullet we drank the 2006 Monnières Saint-Fiacre, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from Véronique Gunther-Chereau at Château du Coing. The Monnières' quite opulent and rich fruit matched the meaty flesh of the mullet and with enough acidity to freshen the palate. Our friends were surprised to discover a Muscadet in this style and of such quality.

Finkus Bripp

Then yesterday lunchtime Finkus Bripp (wine on the rocks) made his way down from Hendon to South London to interview 'this blogger'. Finkus is normally based in Munich but is over in the UK for a few days. He continues to be a busy boy having recently launched his own 'pointless' wine shop and making a wine in Portugal's Douro Valley.

Miolo Brut, Franciacorta, Villa Crespia

In preparation for the rigours of the 'on the rocks' interview we had a glass of the full textured Miolo Brut, Franciacorta from Villa Crespia with its toasty and honeyed notes balanced by good, ripe acidity. Sadly this was the last of our half bottles that we brought back from our October visit to Franciacorta for the European Wine Bloggers Conference. These halves have proved to be a very useful and practical size providing an evening apéro for two or even a glass each for three people.

Then over a light lunch – baked omelette with bacon, potato and cheese and salad – we tried another Muscadet from Véronique Gunther-Chereau – the 2005 Château de la Gravelle from Gorges. This proved to be more mineral than the 2006, which was somewhat of a surprise for the vintage but may instead be a reflection of the terroir of Gorges. The Gravelle, however, did have enough buttery weight to partner the omelette.

Finkus prepares to interview 'this blogger'

Lunch over it was onto a wide-ranging interview with Finkus (shot using a Canon EOS 7 with a 16-35 L lens) – to be released at some date in the future.

The trademark Bripp cap – 'the Bripp effect'