Bordeaux Futures

The 2009 Vintage!

Wine.com is thrilled to be a part of the 2009 en primeur campaign in Bordeaux. As an established and reputable retailer of wine, we are entering the futures business this year to give our customers access to some of the most celebrated wines on Earth.

We have just returned from the En Primeur press & trade tasting event, and we agree with what the critics are saying - the 2009 vintage is one of the best ever. Over the course of the next two months, each of the major chateaux will release their futures contracts on the 2009 vintage, due for shipment in 2011. This is the best way to get access to the finest wines in the world at the best possible prices.

How will it work? Wine.com will hear from each chateaux, during the middle of the night our time, as they release their pricing and allocations. We will send you an email around 9am PDT and all sales will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. (In some cases, Wine.com will take a position ourselves on wines we'd like to be able to offer our collectors on an ongoing basis, so you'll have more time to decide.)

Why Wine.com? Access, price and security.

• Access – Our partnership with one of the top Bordeaux Negociants gives us direct access to all the greatest chateaux. In addition, our Master of Wine, Anthony Foster, is helping select lesser-known properties worth featuring.
• Price – Buying futures secures the release price, before any appreciation occurs. The 2009 vintage will likely be sought after for years to come. We're eliminating middlemen and passing the savings to you.
• Security – With 12 years in the business, you can trust Wine.com to deliver on your futures commitments. Your wine will come direct from our Negociant partner via the the chateau, not from other collectors around the globe who cannot vouch for its storage & travel conditions.

For more questions or any requests, please e-mail BordeauxFutures@wine.com.

What are Bordeaux Futures?

Futures, or "en primeur" as it's called in Bordeaux, is a method of purchasing a specific vintage of wine in advance, before it is bottled and released in the market. A wine is tasted while in barrel by industry professionals, and based on the quality of the wine, prices are set and customers are able to buy wine from that particular vintage about 18 months before the wine is released in the general market. The advantage to this process is that you secure your supply of often hard-to-find or purchase wines, and you buy them at a price that may be lower than when it’s released on the market (though there is no guarantee).

In early April each year, industry professionals gather in Bordeaux for the Unions des Grand Cru tastings (UGC), where they taste through barrel samples of the previous year's vintage. After this week, the en primeur campaign begins, and based on reviews and the market, prices are set on future bottles of the Bordeaux vintage. This year, Wine.com will be offering its first selection of Bordeaux en primeur with the iconic 2009 vintage.