Heracles' magic – turning Lafite into Bordeaux Supérieur

 Château Lafite-Rothschild, Pauillac

It is one of the great contemporary feats of the magicians' art: transforming cases of en primeur Château Lafite into €5.50 Bordeaux Supérieur.

Brilliantly simple in conception – persuade people to buy good vintages of Lafite etc. and eventually after many intervening years of frustration waiting for delivery offer them a €5.50 Bordeaux Supérieur as an exchange – it requires the very highest skill in sleight of hand to succesfully carry it off. 

Warning: this is not a trick that should be attempted unless you have friends in the very highest echelons of French society.  

 Emeric Sauty de Chalon: the great magician!

Also known as 'Madoff' in parts of Bordeaux

PDG: Heracles (previously 1855)

 Cora: Foire aux Vins d'Automne 

 

Highlighted @€5.50 (on left) – 2012 Bordeaux Supérieux Château Eyraux

Alexander Barclay Wines Ltd: one to avoid

Lafite: cases of 2004 and 2005 ordered from Beaumont but have not been delivered

Beaumont Vintners disappears – Alexander Barclay Wines Ltd rises

A client of Beaumont Vintners thought he was making a smart investment buying a series of Lafite from 2004 through to 2007. Unfortunately the cases of the 2004 and 2005 never arrived at Lancashire EWGA bonded warehouse used by Beaumont Vintners Ltd.

It is now impossible to contact Beaumont Vintners Ltd, a wine investment company set up in June 2010 with a registered office in Fulham. EWGA Ltd has received a number of calls from concerned Beaumont clients, who have not received their wines.

30 year-old Samuel Philips is the sole director of Beaumont Vintners with an address in London SE18. Philips is also the sole director of another wine investment company – Alexander Barclay Wines Ltd. Alexander Barclay Wines Ltd was formed in August 2011 and its registered office is in London’s Knightsbridge. Alexander Barclay is used on its website, so this may be its trading name.

Alexander Barclay is formed by a group of ...

Its website – http://alexanderbarclay.com – bears a startling resemblance to that of Beaumont Vintners. The introduction is identical:  ‘Alexander Barclay is formed by a group of experienced and successful businessmen and traders, Alexander Barclay’s are providing an opportunity for our clients to gain a foothold in the thriving and prosperous finer wine market.’

So similar are the two sites that Beaumont Vintners Ltd appears on the Alexander Barclay site: ‘Beaumont Vintners uses relative pricing, industry supplied information,…’ 

Alexander Barclay Wines Ltd webpage with mention of Beaumont Vintners Ltd – detail below 

Alexander Barclay claim to store wine at EWGA Ltd. However, EWGA Ltd told Jim’s Loire that they have no account for Alexander Barclay Ltd, will not be opening one and have made a complaint to The Trading Standards Authority.         

1855 (1855.com): now deliveries missing back to 2000

 Château Lafite-Rothschild: some 2008s yet to be delivered  

I continue to receive regular complaints from 1855 customers about their failure to deliver Bordeaux en primeurs. Here is a recent selection with the novelty that there are two customers waiting for orders from the 2000 vintage.

So much for Fabien Hyon’s claim that 1855 does buy their wines en primeur and not when they are in bottle.

Received Wednesday 2nd November 2011

BN:

‘Two years ago I ordered six bottles of Château Lafite-Rothschild 2008. Since four months I tried to contact 1855, I phoned and I sent e-mails. But no reply!

The delivery was planned for June of this year and in July they told me the wines will be delivered in September. But I haven't received nothing yet.’   
 

Received Sunday 6th November 2011:

RP:

‘I have around 3000 euro worth of wine I am trying to get back from 1855
with no luck. Year 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006. All of them were futures.’

From Hervé Lalau’s Chroniques Vineuses site:

p.j.monrozier | 05 novembre 2011

Pour plus de 1000€ HT commandes de primeurs 2003 TVA payée en 2004, appels, lettres de relance, lettre AR avec réponse de 1855 : des excuses, de bizarres explications et des promesses en 2008 , rappels, autres lettres.
Toujours rien.

Lettre à la répression des fraudes adressée et plainte déposée.

M Écrit par : Fred | 06 novembre 2011

oi j'ai toujours des problemes pour mes 2007. J'ai recu que partiellement ma commande. j'ai appelé il y aune semaine (par miracle ils ont decroché le téléphone), j'ai compris que je pouvais toujours attendre donc remboursement possible. Je commence à avoir peu pour mes 2008 même s'ils assurent que ca sera livré pour la fin d'année. Heureusement que je me suis arrete à 2008...
Je suis preneur pour tous conseils afin de déposer plainte.

Écrit par : Sebastien | 07 novembre 2011
Apres plusieurs relances je suis egalement dans la meme situation.
Primeurs 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 et 2006. Incroyables.

Écrit par : dumas | 08 novembre 2011
Je suis également dans la même situation, 1855 refuse (de me répondre) et de me livrer les primeurs. Quelle honte et quel mépris! J'ai donc engagé une action en JUSTICE. N'hésitez pas à vous joindre à moi, l'on, sera plus fort et cela réduira les frais d'avocat. Bon courage à tous.
matthieudumas@yahoo.fr

Emeric Sauty de Chalon and Fabien Hyon are the senior 'management' team of 1855 (1855.com, 1855.con). Thierry Maincent was an administrateur and one of the directeur général délégués until he resigned his posts for personal reasons on 30th September 2010. Businessman Jean-Pierre Meyers, who is on the boards of L'Oreal and Nestlé, is a long-term shareholder of 1855. 

I'm sure that as a long term shareholder Jean-Pierre Meyers would welcome letters from frustrated clients of 1855. As he is on the board of L'Oréal letters can be addressed to him here:   

L’Oréal   

Centre Eugène Schueller
41 rue Martre
92117 Clichy cedex - France