If you have any connection to the world of wine, there is little doubt you’ve been hearing all about 2010 Bordeaux Futures. These wines have created a frenzy that falls somewhere between a hungry school of adult piranha and the crowds at a Neiman Marcus Last Call sale. To wit: when it’s over, all the good stuff’s gonna be gone.
But what exactly are Futures? How do you buy them? Why should you care?
To help you understand what all the fuss is about – and to whet your appetite – read on!
What are Futures?
Bordeaux Futures – or any other wine futures (also called en primeur) – are wines that are purchased in advance of physical availability. Every year there are big, fancy tastings all over the world, for all of the world’s top wine regions, usually before the wines have even been bottled. Trained professionals, wine enthusiasts, and an assortment of oenophiles give their opinion on the quality of these wines and the market responds accordingly. When they buy, consumers bank on the fact that the juice will be every bit as good as the experts say it is (or will be). For their leap of faith, buyers are rewarded with discounted prices that can’t be replicated once the bottles hit the shelves.
What to know about buying en primeur
Easier than playing the stock market – and less risky – the way to buy futures is the same way you buy anything else: Lay down a form of payment (cash, check or charge; thank you and have a nice day!). Here at Wally’s, customers can purchase futures from our website and/or over the phone – just like buying any other bottle of wine. The only difference is your en primeur won’t be available to take home for another two years – that’s when the wines are released by the chateaux.
Choosing what to buy requires a little more effort.
The most important decision a futures buyer has to make is: How much am I willing to spend? After that, the next question – inseparable from the first – is: What do I intend to do with this wine? Now more than ever before, some futures are delightfully drinkable young. Others – often from the better-known chateaux – require cellaring before they really show their stuff. Those also tend to be investment wines: The bottles people bequeath to their children or include as part of their assets and retirement funds. Due to a fairly new and seemingly immutable market change, those are also the wines that will be extremely difficult for consumers to obtain.
What you buy, therefore, should depend on your preferred style of wine, available storage options, and your level of thirst for and commitment to first growth (aka Mouton, Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Haut-Brion).
What to know about the market
People have been crazy for claret for hundreds of years – that’s nothing new. But what is new is the fervor with which people are going after the top-tier juice from this famous region.
2005 was a record-breaking vintage. It wasn’t just that the wine was that good (which it was); the world economy was booming; wealthy new players got into the game when the staggering points came out, and the savvy business people in Bordeaux knew how to price accordingly. When the 2009’s arrived, the prices were up 30% over 2005. 2010, said to be another “vintage of the century,” will probably see another 30% increase, due to comments like these: “[2005, 2009 and 2010 are] three of the greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in my career” – Robert Parker; “No one in his or her sound mind could say that 2010 is not an excellent vintage for Bordeaux” – James Suckling; “2010s have much higher levels of acidity [than the 2009s] and, in some cases, the tannins taste much drier. This makes the 2010 vintage much more structured, and arguably more refreshing” – Jancis Robinson.
Bordeaux is sur le feu, with absolutely no sign of cooling down.
What this means for you
If you’re looking to break into Bordeaux, you couldn’t ask for a better vintage. The reviews on these wines are amazing, they’re going to be fabulous to drink (or inherit), and they’re almost certain to continue to increase in value as the world economy rebounds and more and more people get the Bordeaux bug.
Remember that the more celebrated the chateau, the higher the prices will be, the lower the allocation, and the harder it is to bring those bottles home. If you want to get into the first growth game, be prepared to pay to play, and know that you’ll have to move quickly.
For the lesser growths (third, fourth, fifth), still expect a 30% jump over the 2009 prices and a return on investment commensurate with market fluctuation. But these wines are generally more affordable for the average person, and a great place for the Bordeaux beginner to cut his or her teeth.
Where and when to buy
Bordeaux is released bit by bit. These “bits” are known as tranches. The first tranche is a litmus test of the market, and often the prix di sortie (the initial release price) is the lowest lucky consumers will see. Once the first tranche sells out, the chateaux release another and another, until all of their futures offerings are gone. With each release, the prices go up and the availability dwindles. How much will the prices increase? That’s always impossible to say, and it’s one of the reasons buying on future is a gamble. Where she stops, nobody knows!
The futures release is the Bordelaise’ Big Dance. To prepare, wine merchants all over the world work for months to negotiate, bargain, beguile, bewitch and cajole chateau proprietors into giving them big allocations at [relatively] small prices. Those of us who’ve been in the wine business for a long time have obviously developed relationships over the years, and usually our practiced charm and honeyed magnetism pays off for our customers. The established guys often get some of the best prices on each tranche and – here’s the small print – if the chateaux oversell their stuff, wine stores like Wally’s are not the ones who get short changed. (Remember the part where I said buying futures is a bit of a gamble?). Is it possible to find lower prices on the internet? Yes. To be honest, it is. Can you be certain that you’re going to get the wine you paid for from these online marketers? Well. It depends on how much of a gamble you want this to be. Everyone wants the best price, but sometimes cheap is expensive…
The bottom line
Do your homework, ask questions, taste a few bottles from the different regions within the Bordeaux AOC. Figure out your preferred wine style and how long you’re willing to sit on something (and whether or not you have the proper conditions to hold onto it for the 20+ years some bottles require to be at their best). Research your merchant, ask about their track record (in our 30-year history, we’ve never lost a bottle). Give us a call; we’re happy to help answer any questions you have.
And once you make a decision – if you want to take advantage of the en primeur discounts – be prepared to move fast. The market is thirsty, and there is only so much juice to meet the demand.
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