Suspicions are being raised that some customers on the mainland have been duped into buying 2009 Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine before prices and allocations have been determined.
In what is being viewed as a direct consequence of the seemingly unquenchable thirst for Chateau Lafite on the mainland, some wine dealers have reported anecdotal evidence that unsuspecting customers may be buying wine that might not be delivered as promised.
As early as the end of March, Michael Hundebol, purchasing and trading director of Veyret Latour, a major Bordeaux fine wine merchant, heard from two clients on the mainland that they had been offered 2009 Chateau Lafite for about Euro1,000 (HK$9,506) a bottle.
Hundebol said he tried to explain that this was not possible as the wine was not yet priced or even bottled. Another of Hundebol's clients, in Hong Kong, wanted to pre-order the 2010 and 2011 vintages after being unable to secure any of the 2009.
'I told the client that I cannot do this and that this is not how it works,' he said. 'I'm not sure if any money has changed hands but I hope not.'
Hundebol said this was the first time he had come across anything like this and that many Bordeaux wine producers scoffed at the idea that the sale of wine en primeur was being exploited on the mainland. En primeur, or wine futures, is an established way of offering substantial amounts of Bordeaux wines for sale while the vintage is still in the barrel. This effectively allows customers to invest in a particular wine early in its life. This means the 2009 vintage, which was harvested around October last year, is expected to be priced by late next month and bottled for delivery between late next year and early 2012. As such, it won't be known whether the suspicious trades on the mainland are actually fraudulent until the wine is delivered in about 18 months' time.