Bordeaux en primeur buyers fear being priced out: Decanter report

(Decanter) - More than three quarters of Bordeaux en primeur buyers surveyed are concerned about being priced out of the market, according a new Decanter consumer report on the annual wine futures sale.

The Decanter Bordeaux En Primeur Report - the first of its kind to focus solely on consumer attitudes to buying wines en primeur -  included questions on buyer habits, critics' influence, evolving opinions and loyalties, as well as volume and price data on wines bought by individuals during the en primeur campaigns of 2000 to 2010 inclusive.

The report contains some surprising insights into the en primeur market, drawn from more than 800 international respondents.

Around 45% of those surveyed said they 'agreed strongly' that they were concerned about being priced out of the Bordeaux en primeur market in the near future. A further 32% agreed slightly with the same statement.

The data also suggets that only a small number of those buying Bordeaux en primeur do so solely for financial returns. Just 5% claimed to buy only for investment purposes.

However, 42% said that they buy Bordeaux en primeur with both future drinking and investment in mind and just over half value their portfolio once per year.