Had lunch with Parker and Joel Butler in 1983. Butler was a friend of Marc DeGrazia. I got into retail about that time & tried to get DeGrazia's wines which were at DC's A&A (Tom Hanna) and imported by his step brother, Iano. Iano was doing business with Franco DeRosa in Maryland, so first these wines came to where I worked Milford Liquors and State Line Liquors, at some point DeRosa hired me and I did the sales for MD as both the DeGrazia's agent and wholesaler salesmen. I met Marco at a tasting held at the new A& A in DC. Some coked up bimbo tried to leave with Marco, but I diverted her and Marco & Iano went to see Marco's mom. So when I went to VinItaly in 1985 Jim Morris & I played a day or two with Marco in Tuscany.
I represented Marco until 1995 when they bailed on me. Todd Ruby and Bacchus took over from me. In the meantime I developed my own portfolio of wines. Marco got Pira and Paitin from me about a year later.
I left Parker my samples on two occasions. The first time the retailer I left it with on his instructions may have sold the better wines. The second time, we were supposed to drink them over lunch; after waiting 6 months, I called and he had me deliver the wines. That was in 1999. To date I've heard nothing further about these wines.
I saw Parker about 2 years ago when he invited me to one of his tasting-dinners and we tasted 1997 cult cabs. I had a nice chat with him before the dinner and never asked him about my clients wines since I was out of the business.
Over the years Parker has tasted with Marco, David Shiverick and others I represented. It was made pretty clear to me that I was not needed at these occasions. Although Marco always briefed me afterwards.
There were a number of people in the wine business in Maryland who disapproved of my holding a full time job and in my spare time outselling them. I do not know if Parker was one of them but there were a bunch of folk telling him things about me that were not true. I got along with him much better when I was a consumer.
I owe Parker my whole career in wine, so I can't be too down on him. Shit happens.
I helped 2 people in my life in their early days, Robert Klein and Robert Parker; I mentored a lot of people in the union business and on my job. Techniques I used to make up for my limited time were adopted by others in the wine biz and I got to taste some great stuff and have lots of good times.
Parker likes the individualists and likes to discover wineries and importers. It puts him one up on the Spectator, Tanzer, Coates etc. Like me he belongs to the ABS club--Always be selling, with me it was wine, with him his services. God Bless.