Château Figeac, Saint-Emilion
Let's be positive and start with the good news. Yesterday I heard that someone (Mr A) who had been waiting for a long time for their en primeurs (13 bottles), ordered from 1855, finally received them. A selection of 13 bottles from the 2003 vintage, which should have been delivered in the first half of 2006.
For one customer the 1855 nightmare has come to an end as Mr A says:
'I am just pleased that the ordeal has finally come to an end and I sincerely hope that everyone else’s outstanding wines will be received in due course.
Thanks again for all your help.'
Good that Mr A finally got his wine but it wasn't exactly what he ordered in the sense that he ordered his wine en primeur, so that these wines would come direct from the château. Instead these wines have been sourced six years later, so goodness knows what their provenance is. For all Mr A knows they could have been around the world several times and spent weeks on a hot quayside. Presumably this level of service is seen as acceptable to FEVAD – fédération du e-commerce et de la vente à distance – as they recently accepted 1855 as a member.
Mr A hopes that everyone else's outstanding wines will be received in due course. I would hope so, too, but the volume of wine now known to be outstanding has now got to a level where this looks less and less probable. Can 1855 source all of these outstanding wines and can they afford to buy them remain unanswered questions.
After removing Mr A's 2003s but adding some new clients, who continue to experience the 1855 ordeal, and revaluing some of the more expensive bottles the estimated value not delivered has now reached 254,621€. I know of over 50 disappointed customers who are waiting for 4818 bottles (401.5 cases) of Bordeaux en primeur.
