Fraud alert over Bordeaux wine futures(2)

Winegrowers offer merchants a specific number of cases, or an allocation, for resale. It takes years, even decades, to acquire large allocations of top wines. Brokers act as middlemen, earning a two-percent commission on every transaction.

According to Francois Leveque, president of the Bordeaux wine and spirits brokers' syndicat, so far, none of the 2009 vintage grand cru classé wines has been released for sale.

"We are waiting for Robert Parker's ratings today," said Leveque. In a spectacular vintage like 2009, the wine critic's ratings will fuel the excitement and generate dynamic trading. "The real campaign will begin next week."

But many consumers do not understand how the system works, and the Chinese, now the biggest volume customer for Bordeaux outside the EU, are still new to the en primeurs market, leaving them vulnerable to hucksters.

"There's a huge interest in the 2009 Bordeaux from China," said Gleave. "In an unregulated and uneducated market, there was always potential for rogue trading in en-primeur. Unfortunately, it seems as if that potential has been realised."

The alleged scam is to offer the wine for sale, take the customers money and then never deliver the wine. The fraud becomes apparent only with time.

"We cannot call it wine fraud because it will be another two years before a crime could be considered to have been committed," Gleave wrote to AFP.