what's a nice merlot?, page-42

This gives you a further idea about the kudos of Robert Parker:

http://www.erobertparker.com/

En Primeur: Let the Frenzy Begin

American wine critic Robert Parker: Some people love him; others, well, don?t.

But his influence was felt this week after he released a positive review for the 2010 vintage of premium Bordeaux wines.

Mr. Parker said on his website Tuesday that the wine, still two years away from delivery, was one of the ?greatest Bordeaux vintages I have tasted in my career.?

The next day, wine buffs around the world flooded their brokers with orders. Business was particularly brisk in Hong Kong, says Guy Ruston, a sales executive at wine merchant Bordeaux Index.

?Parker is still the man,? he says. ?Everybody in the office spent all day on the phone.?

The top Bordeaux wines are sold in a unique futures market, known as en primeur. Here?s how it works: A portion of the wine made from the previous year?s harvest is sold each May and June by the winemakers through middlemen?n?gociants?to collectors, wine merchants and the like. The futures market was meant to benefit both the merchants, who could lock in inventory for future years, and the winemakers, who could receive early payment on wine that would continue to age in their cellars for another two years. Anyone can buy, from individuals looking for a single case to wine merchants to collectors stockpiling the wine as an investment.

The en primeur market is an early test of interest in the latest vintage of fine Bordeaux wines, and big-name critics have huge sway because only industry insiders get a taste.

Last year, tasting the 2009 vintage, critics were laudatory; Mr. Parker called it one of the best he?d ever tasted. Emboldened by these rave reviews?and rising interest in Bordeaux from Asian buyers?ch?teaux set prices at record levels: ?550 (US$901) for a bottle of Ch?teau Lafite Rothschild, for example, 53% more than Lafite charged for the much-lauded 2005 vintage.

Prices for the 2010 vintage will be released later this month, and wine buyers are bracing themselves for another round of price increases, according to Mr. Ruston?as much as 20%.

?We?re all preparing, but we all just hope it?s not a massive hike,? he says.

Interest among Hong Kong buyers and other Asian collectors was feverish this week: Mr. Ruston says Asian buyers may account for a third of this year?s en primeur orders, up from about a quarter in 2010. ?We?re expecting much more action from Asia this year,? he says.

But despite their growing infatuation with wine, particularly Bordeaux, mainland Chinese buyers haven?t been active in the futures market up to now, Mr. Ruston says. Some wine experts speculate that they?ve been cautious about dabbling in en primeur because they?re unfamiliar with how the system works.

http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/05/06/en-primeur-let-the-frenzy-begin/