Chirac's peace gift, with hopes of a lasting aftertaste

Much like Tony Blair, it travels well, is surprisingly fruity and improves with age. But when a half-case of 1989 Chateau Mouton Rothschild was sent to the Prime Minister by Jacques Chirac yesterday for his 50th birthday, it became clear that this was the perfect Gallic revenge.

Six bottles of claret may seem a generous peace offering, but the rules mean that any gift worth more than £140 has to be bought with a minister's own money – so Mr Blair will have to pay £900 for the privilege of accepting them.

The accompanying note was typically pointed. "Dear Tony," it read, "Knowing how much you love to visit France, I have pleasure in offering you a present which represents the qualities of the produce of the soil of our country, which you know so well." Given No 10's hint that Mr Blair may forgo his usual holiday in Gascony in protest at French opposition to the Iraq war, the irony was clear.

Last year, Mr Blair spent £3,400 buying back gifts such as a Japanese camera and a 12-piece dinner set from Bangladesh. But although he paid £500 on a Winston Churchill fountain pen given by M. Chirac, he has until now refused to buy any of the wine sent from Paris in what is becoming a diplomatic ritual.