Wine column overflow these past few weeks has delayed mention of the 1998 en primeur offers - hence the note of urgency. The best wines are being snapped up fast. The message is simple: with Bordeaux prices rocketing these past few years, buying en primeur makes serious sense. By ordering and paying for your '98s now, you benefit from much better prices than will be current when the wine arrives here in spring 2001.
But obviously good advice is crucial in this vintage, which was generally better in Pomerol, St Emilion and the Graves than the Medoc. After extensive tasting, Frank Searson - an utterly reliable Bordeaux man - has come up with a comprehensive en primeur offer: contact Searsons of Monkstown, 01 280 0405. The 1998s proposed by Direct Wine Shipments of Belfast come at very keen prices, even allowing for the sterling difference: tel (08) 01232 243 906.