Ducru Beaucaillou St. Julien Questions and other ramblings

Walter L. Preuninger II wrote: : Hello All, long time again....

: Now, Alison and I met in 2001 and married in June of 2002. My question: I : see where I can pick up a bottle of 1985 Ducru Beaucaillou,St. Julien for : USD $119. I can get a couple of bottles for $45 of futures 2001.

Walter --

if you can get good futures pricing on the Ducru, why don;t you spring for Both vintages?! Prices are surely lower than the 2000's, and D-B certainly can age well. You may want to buy an assorted case of Bordeaux from each of those years, this way you'll have a comparison to the Ducru and find out if you like other chateau better. A caveat though: don't expect to drink these out-of-the-box, they'll need some aging. Personally, I'd get a case of Sauternes/Barsacs from the excellent 2001 vintage, as these will taste well throughout their life while still gaining complexity throughout their long lifespan.

Mark S

How does this whole "futures" thing work? Are you just pre-ordering a bottle of a given vintage? Who offers these -- retailers, or some special brokers?

In short, if I'd like to buy something this way (as it looks like a very cheap vehicle), how do I do it?

thanks,

-- kov

Exactly, you're preordering a wine. First "tranche" (in Bordeaux, where futures are most established, the offers come out in phases, with prices asjusting according to demand) prices can be a great deal (see 2000 Bordeaux) compared to release, or not (see 1997). Most big speciality wine retailers offer Bdx futures. I personally think that buying futures as a financial decision is a bit risky, on arrival wines are often at same price (occasionally lower!). I'm glad I bought some 2000s at first tranche, some prices have gone up quite a bit. But actual reason I did was (a) I had some extra money at time and (b) I wanted to lock in supplies of a few moderately priced wines that I buy almost every year. Even at first tranche some of my faves were too rich for my blood (Leoville Poyferre, Gruaud-Larose, Montrose); they all got good scores so prices are going even higher, so I'll just miss them this year.

One other word about futures, and this is most important consideration. Buy from an established reputable retailer with a brick & mortar presence. When I was buying 2000s, I bought most from Rochambeau (my local dealer, Dobbs Ferry NY). And a few from Zachys. Their prices were competitive with out of state retailers I've done business with like Macarthurs, Sams, and Premier Cru. I confess I did eye the ads from Rare LLC - prices substantially lower than anywhere else. But decided to stick to places where I had a relationship. Rare LLC is now in bankruptcy, with the FBI investigating fraud. Lots of paid-for futures were never ordered, and it looks unlikely anyone will get their wine (or their money).

In NY area (see your email is nyc) , I'd stick with Sherry-Lehman, Morell, Zachy's , Rochambeau, Acker, Wine Library, Gary's, Wine Shop, etc- places with good reps. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I am told by many local wine shops that they do not like futures. Sometimes even when dealing with honest retailers things fall through. One link in the chain breaks for some reason (e.g. bankruptcy) and then everyone is out. A local wineshop owner says he had a lot of money in futures that he never received. He did get his money back, but what good did that do him? Plus, he had his cash laid out for a year when he could've done something else with it. I've heard similar stories many times. I'm not sure it's worth the fuss.

Dimitri