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.
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.
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.
We talk to the man bringing certified Bordeaux wines to Asia.
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.
A new certified way to get official Bordeaux wine in Asia.
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.
The wine world is no longer a boys-only club, especially in Asia.
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.
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