POWER’s wine critic takes on some big names in the world of wine – and gets abused on the internet.

IT MUST BE it must be quite a common experience for people in the public eye to read attacks on their work or beliefs – and some believe there’s no such thing as bad publicity. It’s quite another story if you think you are leading a somewhat anonymous life to suddenly discover that in the eyes of some of your peers in an Internet discussion group, you are guilty of deceit, lies and fraud.

That’s what happened to me after a recent column in power.

The mystery began when several friends in the wine world sent me emails saying I had better take a look at a thread on wine critic Robert Parker’s website (www.erobertparker.com) that accused me of being the lowest form of journalistic knave.

Last year, I interviewed Parker for power about his views on the wine boom in Asia and thoughts in general about oenology. In what was almost a throwaway line, I mentioned that he was perhaps the most powerful critic in the world in any sphere and, as a result, few big players were prepared to question or challenge him. I reported some interesting remarks said to have been made by Christian Moueix, the controller and producer of Château Pétrus. I quoted him as saying that he no longer reads Parker because “he wants to lead us down a path to destruction.” Simplistically speaking, this is all to do with Moueix’s belief that Parker and his allies, especially wine doctor Michel Rolland, like big highly extracted “fruit bomb” black wines rather than elegant, sophisticated red wines.

Parker found nothing wrong with my piece. In fact, he asked power for permission to run the entire piece on his website in a category called “Articles of Merit.”

That’s when the fun began. In an open letter to me published on Parker’s website, Moueix ran through a litany of accusations. Firstly, he said he had never met me or ever granted an interview to me, or anybody else, about Parker

. As for another quote that “Bob is a big dramatic man with big dramatic tastes,” Moueix said that was completely outside the realm of his vocabulary.

Moueix conceded that he has said in the past he likes red wines and not black ones. But as for the “path of destruction” remark, that was a “surrealistic comment.”

(I entirely agree with him there but that doesn’t address the issue of whether he said it or not.)

By now, things were taking on a life of their own. Over the weekend, Moueix’s open letter had attracted more than 7,000 viewings and nearly 100 comments, including a rather belated one from me, as you have to register and then wait for a moderator to usher you into this particular nest of ants. Because these Moueix quotes were originally made anonymously in a lengthy profile of Parker published in the Atlantic Monthly, the zealous nitpickers of the Parker website denounced me for jumping to irresponsible conclusions as to who said them. Imagine the thrill of these obscure scavengers to be able to denounce someone so robustly, thus showing both Parker and Moueix not only how well read they were, but how devoted they were to upholding their integrity and well-being.
The problem with being attacked by ants from all sides is that you have to be as equally pedantic and methodical to deal with each and every bite.

The confusion came about because the first time these quotes were published in the Atlantic Monthly profile, all the author said was that the speaker was “one of the most powerful producers in the trade, a businessman with formal manners, who did not want me to use his name.” However, subsequently in a book on Bordeaux (Noble Rot by William Echikson, 2005) the author states that Parker said the anonymous source was Christian Moueix. Echikson also said in his book (and later confirmed to me) that when he interviewed Moueix shortly after The Atlantic profile was published, Moueix was very forthright in his hostility towards Parker’s views on wine. Moueix never contacted Echikson or his publisher to seek a retraction.  Interestingly, one of the most aggressive contributors on the website assault on me later told me in Hong Kong that he had also heard Moueix strongly attack the views of Rolland and others about “modern wine making techniques.”

Will we ever get to the bottom of this monsoon in a wine glass?  Probably not. When I approached William Langewiesche, the author of the original quotes in the Atlantic Monthly, he declined to comment, so he is still protecting his source.

It is a shame really, as Moueix and Parker are truly two of the greatest contributors to the wine world in the 20th. Christian and the Moueix family have completely changed the world’s perception of Pomerol, which was a relatively obscure Right Bank Bordeaux only 40 years ago. Château Pétrus is certainly the most illustrious Bordeaux of them all and Christian also supervises the production of several other spectacular wines, such as Château Trotanoy and the fabulous Dominus in the Napa Valley. On the three occasions I have met Moueix at wine tastings, he was the personification of a gentleman, although perhaps it was a bit rich for him to say that he was merely a “simple farmer.” It was Moueix (or was it is the family trust?) who recently sold the Francis Bacon Triptych to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich for US$86.3m.

As for Parker, he has personally had more influence on the improvement of the quality of wine production worldwide than any other individual.

Anybody who has diligently read Parker’s comments over the years should know that he has the greatest palate of his generation. He can comprehend the nuances of vast numbers of elegant wines, even if his personal taste does run to forthright, robust wines. However it is ridiculous to blame him for the winemakers who slavishly cash in on his influence by producing such fruit bombs. I can only hope that once the last drop of controversy about these reported remarks has drained away that I can still share a bottle of Château Pétrus 1964 with Robert and Christian.

If you want to read the thread, go to:
http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=197492