En Primeurs’ video by Millesima: benefits’ customers / part 4 from Millesima SA on Vimeo.

The second part of “Guide To Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur” covers the benefits of buying wine en primeur and how to buy.

Why buy en primeur wine?
The main reason to buy wine en primeur is because it is buying wine at the cheapest level. When you buy in advance – let’s say from 12 to 18 months before the wine is bottled – “by subscription” while the wine is still maturing in their barrels, you get it at the best price before it is released to the open market. According to Millesima, you can buy wines at 20% less on average compared to when they are bottled and released.

However if you can get your hands on first growth wines from a leading chateaux of a great vintage, chances are prices will rise quickly by the time the bottled version comes to market. It is not uncommon to see 100% increase in less than a year.  Robert Parker has already given the thumbs up for the 2009 vintage from the five First Growth chateaux which is going to make the 2009 vintage very exciting.

The other interesting point is that buying this way also means buying bigger size formats such as double magnums, jeroboams or imperials is possible.

En primeur’s vidéo 2009 by Millesima: where to buy from? from Millesima SA on Vimeo.

How to buy wine en primeur?

There are a few ways to buy  en primeur wine. There are wine merchants that sell wine en primeur through direct mail order through catalogue, telephone or via websites. What’s important is to buy from a reputable merchant and register your wishlist with them. As there is huge demand for certain wines, merchants will give priority to customers who register early.

Millesima is one such wine merchant to consider.  They are one of the 5 biggest buyers of en primeur wines with their own “place de Bordeaux” license with close relationships with all the chateaux in Bordeaux. They also offer the widest choice and range, from 250 to 300 wines for every vintage since 1988.

There is no other intermediaries between them and the chateaux and they offer an excellent storage and cellar management service(only storing at the chateaux’s cellar or their own hundred year-old cellars), guaranteeing the quality of the wine while they are fermenting in the barrels.

Check out their website to see offers of en primeur wine already released. As there is a great demand for these wines and only a limited quantity is released, sign up for their ‘Alert Fuction‘ to be alerted as soon as the wines you would like to purchase are released.

“The Guide to Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur Series” is sponsored by Millesima.

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En Primeur’s video – Part 1 from Millesima SA on Vimeo.

With the soaring demand in Hong Kong and China for first growth Bordeaux as seen in the record breaking prices achieved at every wine auction held in Hong Kong, wine merchants are predicting that the market is ready for en primeur wine.

What does buying en primeur wine mean?
It is a system of buying wine early while they are still in the barrels before the vintage has been bottled. Bordeaux wineries has traditionally maintained this system of trading wine since the 16th century. Producers offer up a portion of annual production for early sale usually 12- 18 months before they are bottled and release to the market at a discounted price. This process guarantees producers’ financing and allows them to invest in future harvests while the wine ages in the barrel.

En primeurs’ video – Part 2 from Millesima SA on Vimeo.

When does the buying take place?
Every Spring, the economy of Bordeaux wines is determined at the opening of the en primeur campaign in Gironde, Bordeaux. All those who have a stake in the Bordeaux wine trade including buyers, importers, sommeliers, wine critics and wine journalists make a pilgrimage to Bordeaux to taste the previous year’s vintage from the Châteaux of Bordeaux (over 400 estates participates). The release of the wines on the market only happens after the tasting sessions is done and then prices are determined based on the quality of the wine.

How are Bordeaux en primeur wine traded?
The trading of Bordeaux wine is only conducted exclusively with local wine merchants with license know as ‘the courtier de place’ obtained from Bordeaux. In total there are only 130 license holders who are able to buy Bordeaux wine en primeur. Wine merchant without license are not allowed to directly buy and sell these wines. If you are thinking that this is quite a protected market, you are right! Within this system, the wine brokers are only able to purchase based on their ‘allocations’ which correspond to the cases assigned by the Chateaux to each broker, making it quite difficult for mere mortals to buy Bordeaux en primeur without the right connection and even then with many layers of intermediaries involved, it will be difficult to buy at a good price.

Part 2 of “The Guide to Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur” will be out tomorrow. “The Guide to Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur Series” is sponsored by Millesima.

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Millesima, a fine wine merchant company based in Bordeaux has launched a dedicated Hong Kong site to offer Bordeaux En Primeur wine direct to consumer.

Millesima was founded by Patrick Bernard in 1983 and is Europe’s leading fine wine merchant. They are one of the top five buyers of “Grands Crus Classés” in the world and offers an extensive range of Grands Crus Classés wine from Bordeaux from all vintages in the past 15 years.  They offer an amazing range of over 2.5 million bottles of wine in their cellars and their wine list includes not only the Cru Classés and Cru Bourgeois from Bordeaux but also wines from the best estates in the Rhône, Burgundy, Alsace and Champagne region.

The Hong Kong website is geared up to launch their up coming 2009 vintage en primeur wine direct to consumer. This is exciting news for wine connoisseurs and investors as Bordeaux en primeur wine have traditionally been offered exclusively to trade members and difficult for those without the right connection to buy.

As the interest in Grand Crus from Bordeaux wine heats up in this part of the world, Millesima is concentrating its efforts to offer en primeur to the more sophisticated Hong Kong wine market.

Millesima has been a wine merchant of Bordeaux wine for over 20 years and served more than 57,000 satisfied customers across 99 countries. Their commitment and knowledge of the range of top Bordeaux wine is recognised by the international wine press and members of the trade.

How Millesima is different from other wine merchants is that they buy their wine exclusively, direct from the producing estate (no middleman) and then the bottles or barrels are kept in only one of two cellars, the Chateaux’s own cellar or Millesima’s two hundred year-old cellars.  Patrick Bernard and his team taste the wines several times a year to ensure all wines selected are in excellent condition and meet Millesima’s quality standards. Millesima’s cellar guarantees optimum conditions for storing wines and should you ever be in Bordeaux, be sure to call on the cellar for a tour.

For more information:

www.millesima.com.hk

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This week’s Vinexpo in Hong Kong is bringing the world’s biggest and most innovative wine makers to town. And we got a rare chance to sit down with the founder of one of the companies that is changing the way we buy Bordeaux wine: Mr. Henning Thoresen, founder of Bordeaux Provenance.

Our talk with Mr. Thoresen delves into the strategy and essence of new business in selling certified Bordeaux wine online direct from France to anywhere in the world.

Where did the idea of creating a certified Bordeaux wine company come from?
Customers are cheated every day around the world when buying fine Bordeaux wine because producers in Bordeaux have no exclusive distribution channels. The wines are sold by various merchants and because there is no exclusivity, the international price competition puts pressure on companies to try and save on transport and storage.

Wines sold by retailers and by auction houses can have changed ownership many times and this information is not disclosed to the buyer, This is a situation we intend to rectify.

What is your background in the wine business?
I’ve been in the wine trade for more than 20 years and I’ve been on a crusade for transparency and provenance for the last 10 years. The last 5 years I’ve been living in Bordeaux, working on the Five Star Provenance® program by buying up “direct château” stock.

How do you source the wine?
All our wines come direct from the châteaux – this is one of the essential differences of our company.

How many types of wine do you store in the Winebank at any one time?
For Bordeaux Winebank the objective is to buy and store only the very best wines, wines that have been made with outmost care – wine we want to protect for future generations to come. Currently we have around 100 references in our “bank” with 80% from legendary vintages like 2000 and 2005 – mostly Bordeaux First Growths with some selected “Super Seconds”

What exactly is “Five Star Provenance®?”
Five Star Provenance® is a guarantee that the wine has come direct from the château and has been stored in Bordeaux since release. The wine travels directly from our warehouse to the customer in order to provide a wine that is as close as possible to the way the wine was made and meant to taste. Our five requirements are:

• All wines sold exclusively in original wooden case (OWC).
• All wines must have documented “ex-château” provenance.
• All cases must remain in professional storage in Bordeaux since bottling.
• Professional storage facilities must be temperature and humidity controlled and monitored 24/7.
• Annual certification of procedures by qualified auditor.

What is it about the computer-operated surveillance that is a benefit to wine storage?
Wine is fragile and must be handled with the utmost care. Bordeaux Winebank stores wine perfectly for our clients in Bordeaux and we must then monitor the temperature, the humidity and the security 24/7 in transit to make sure the customers, when they take delivery of the wine, get a perfect wine to drink and enjoy – just the way it was made.

Bordeaux is far away from Hong Kong, how can we get safe delivery in Asia?
One of the biggest problems in Asia is often high temperatures in combination with slow customs clearance. With tough competition, and many market players, few transporters use temperature-controlled containers, despite the fact that wine can stay in these containers for days while being cleared through customs. Bordeaux Provenance and its logistics partners use only temperature-controlled transport (trucks and containers) with a team on “stand-by” upon the arrival in each country where we deliver.

We monitor every shipment with eProvenance – a temperature controlling device that tracks the temperature during transport. This is of course a more expensive way of doing things, but fine wine deserves the very best. When we’re talking about the top wines in the world, the question is not about price but about provenance and the extra cost is a fraction of the price of the best Bordeaux wines – so this is a win-win for all parties. I can’t say this enough – wine is fragile and must be handled with care.

What countries/cities do you forsee will be your biggest outside of Europe?
Bordeaux Provenance has a 20-year business plan to create three core distribution centers in Bordeaux, Hong Kong and New York, and a sales office in London. Europe, US and Asia are all important markets and the idea is to have the best and most collectible wines which remain in Bordeaux, and the ready-to-drink wines stored in New York and Hong Kong.

Our exclusive “Five Star Distributors” will then be able to purchase from the three core distribution centers and for Asia we are building a tight and professional distribution network to make sure lovers of fine wine can drink and enjoy the best of Bordeaux the way it was made.

Having just returned from wine dinners in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei (where we have customers and partners) the Greater China market remains a top priority for us and we expect to have permanent “Five Star Winecellars” in these cities by early 2011 – secure and professionally managed wine cellars where our clients can purchase and enjoy wine.

Do you think your service is for regular wine drinkers or collectors?
We target both and both are equally important. The best of Bordeaux is made to drink, but as they take years to develop (15 in average for a First Growth) the market benefits from having players like ourselves that protect the wine during its development stage.

You are using RFID (Radio-frequency identification) chips in your shipments, how does this work?
Yes, and this is extremely important. The eProvenance device is put on each case and activated prior to the case leaving our warehouse. It is set to read the temperature every hour during the transport and when the customer receives his wine the tag is removed and mailed back to us. We will then read the information and create a chart, showing the temperatures the cases have been exposed to during the shipment. The client will then receive a transport certificate that confirms that the provenance has been maintained during the transport.

What kind of pricing are we looking at for a case of wine to be shipped to Asia?
Oh it varies, subject to method (air or sea) and volume. With Fine Bordeaux wine getting pricey, shipment and tracking cost represents approximately 5 to 10% extra, but it’s worth it!

You are taking a very high-tech approach to what is normally a very traditional business – is this what you are seeing as a needed way to do business in the 21st century?
To stay competitive and protect the wines that we love, we will make use of all possible and available technology to enhance the customers’ experience when drinking and enjoying fine wine. Like I said, wine is fragile and I’m shocked when I see how people often treat and handle top Bordeaux wines around the world.

What is the purpose of your trip to Vinexpo?
The purpose is to launch the Five Star Provenance® program and make customers in Asia more aware of what transport and storage can do to fine wine. Hong Kong has become a world hub for fine wine and we aim to have a permanent office here by the end of 2010 in addition to our office in Singapore that was established in 2004.

Where else will you be exhibiting this year?
Working direct with fine wine collectors we will host several wine events and dinners in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, London and New York during 2010.

Lastly, Mr. Thoresen, what is your personal favorite wine?
A great Bordeaux from a great vintage (1982, 1990, 1996) that drinks beautifully now and it can be from any top château if the wine is well made.

Thanks for the chat, and we hope you have a rewarding stay in Hong Kong, and hope to see you again soon.

To learn more about the Bordeaux Winebank please click here:  www.bordeauxprovenance.com

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It’s been happening for years now but with the recent rise in wine imports to Hong Kong and China, the hype surrounding the 2009 vintage and basically too-much-money-not-enough-education being thrown around, the number of reports of bogus Bordeaux wines being bought and sold in the territory is rising.

So, at this month’s Vinexpo Hong Kong, one company is stepping up to the plate by offering officially certified Bordeaux wine.

Bordeaux Provenance is currently the only Bordeaux negociant able to offer certified “Five Star Provenance” for each and every case in their management, stipulating that:

• All wines are sold exclusively in their original wooden case (OWC).
• All wines must have documented “ex chateau” provenance.
• All cases must remain in professional storage in Bordeaux from time of bottling.
• Temperature and humidity controlled and monitored 24/7.
• Procedures are certified annually by qualified auditor.

Harnessing modern technology to ensure that importers and consumers around the world can purchase wine in confidence, Bordeaux Provenance has negotiated this series of strict quality control agreements with key partners :

STOCK SECURITY

All wines are sourced exclusively from Bordeaux Winebank, one of the world’s largest holders and managers of ex chateau wines with an inventory estimated at 80 million euros (HK$770 million.) All wines remain in secure storage in Bordeaux and are insured by one of the strictest policies currently in operation in Bordeaux, developed exclusively between Bordeaux Winebank and AXA.

RFID TRACKING

Bordeaux Provenance is also the first Bordeaux negociant to use unique RFID tracking sensors each time their cases are transported – from the chateau to the market – thanks to their partnership with eProvenance.

EXPERT TRANSPORTATION

Hillebrand, is the exclusive carrier for Bordeaux Provenance wines and their specially-developed Fine Wine Cold Chain guarantees that only temperature-controlled, secure carriers are used, ensuring that containers are never exposed to heat or direct sunlight. All cases are individually wrapped in Vinliners.

Bordeaux Provenance will be in Hong Kong next week for Vinexpo Hong Kong at Stand H26. We will be interviewing them during their visit to Hong Kong as well as following the company unveiling at the show.

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As you might know but will be loathe to admit, the wine world the world over is dominated by men and, unfortunately, Asia is no exception.

From experience, wine buyers are mostly of the male variety and I find it outrageous when the service women receive is automatically far inferior to that of men.  There are many occasions where I have witnessed a salesperson passing off the shop’s latest promotion in an attempt to hurry a female customer or rudely eluding her questions, just to spend more time with male customers.

Furthermore, there is almost no chance of being taken seriously if a woman is to complain about a wine in a top restaurant. Even for Jeannie Cho Lee, Master of Wine, it was not a pleasant experience when she was dismissed by the sommelier of a Michelin-starred establishment as a ‘typical ignorant Asian woman’ and her request to have a bottle of corked wine be replaced, ignored. Instead of checking to see if the bottle of wine was corked, he declared that it was just the wine’s style, without even smelling the wine for cork taint.

If Hong Kong continues its ambition of becoming the wine hub of Asia, it must first acknowledge that women’s interest in wine is the same as men’s, and create a friendlier and more equal environment in which to deliver quality service. Among the hundreds of new wine shops that have mushroomed recently in Hong Kong, are there any that cater to women? A haven where a woman might take as much pleasure in picking out the right bottle of wine with helpful and knowledgeable staff as, say, they would with clothes, bags and jewelry?

For that, apart from the standard Hong Kong supermarket wine model where hundreds of bottles from all over the world are displayed on shelves or sometimes even on the floor, different styles and genres of wine shops may be needed – shops which are more distinctive, more elegant, more unique or, dare I say, simply more feminine.

• Rene Wong is a Wine Advisor at Bacchus & Century, 30-32 Wyndham Street, Lang Kwai Fong, Tel:6681 1825.

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With New Year’s Eve just around the corner, picking a good bottle of wine is always a good idea, provided you know what to pick.

Celebration usually marks an event that is dear to us and to our host. Choosing a bottle of vintage wine from the year that is most important to you or the recipient – ie the year that marked the beginning of something special, a new venture, an anniversary etc – is the perfect gift. Bacchus & Century, a new boutique wine shop that’s just opened its doors recently, has 101 consecutive years of French vintage wines from 1900 up to 2000.

These vintage wines will be a time machine to take you and your host back to a certain year to relive those fond memories once again. The ‘Shop’s Guardian’ Eric, my partner with an extensive knowledge of French vintage wine, will guide you in your selection.

Below are some suggestions of occasions that are ideal to mark with a bottle of vintage wine, but the possibilities really are infinite.

For a person:

• birth year
• graduation
• wedding
• year their first child was born

For a company:

• inception
• IPO
• anniversaries
• milestones

And for those of you who are worried that your money might be wasted on an expensive bottle of wine, while the gift recipient may know nothing about wine at all, I can guarantee that the impact is worth the investment. If somebody were to offer me a French vintage wine of my birth year, so many questions would immediately rush to my mind. How does he know my birth year? Where on earth did he get this bottle? I would also probably think that he/she must have paid a lot of money for it, and what else happened on that year? Can I drink it now or should I keep it? But, most importantly, it means that you took the trouble to find out about them. It’s giving them a piece of personal history, one that’s rare and once consumed, not to be found again.

• Rene Wong is a Wine Advisor at Bacchus & Century, 30-32 Wyndham Street, LangKwai Fong, Tel:66811825, where they are ready to help you usher in the new year.
  

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