Wine investment company Bordeaux Advisory has disappeared leaving investors chasing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of wine that had been bought at ten times its real value.
Bordeaux Advisory (BA) specialised in selling minor Bordeaux wines, as an investment, at large markups
On 3 September this year the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) issued a warning to all investors not to respond to investment offers from the company, which was originally based in Amsterdam and then moved to Luxembourg.
Now investors are trying to trace wine purchased from the company, whose website is down and whose phones are not responding. decanter.com has been contacted by BA clients from London, Holland, Beijing and Ontario.
In September 2006 an Ontario investor bought eight cases of 2002 Château Lagrave Paran Bordeaux Supérieur for €1170 (£815.96) a case – a wine which is available for around €140 (£97.64) a case. The investor was told by BA in May 2007 that his wine had increased in value by 16.4%.
He was then persuaded to swap his wine for three cases of 1998 Château Fleur de Sergay Bordeaux, two of 1996 Château Lascombes, Margaux and a single case of 2003 Château Le Gay Pomerol. The client paid an additional €14,745 (£10,283.16), including commission for wines that can be bought elsewhere for around £1240 – nearly a tenth of the price.
A Dutch investor spent £60,966 on wines that can be bought for around £6400. In addition the wines sold by BA have little or no investment potential.
It is understood Belgian and French police are investigating.
Written by Jim Budd
