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Collecting wine: Buying In Bond wines

Welcome to the home of fine wine collecting. If you’re considering starting a wine collection or want to purchase a few In Bond cases, you’ll find all the expertise and advice you need to begin your journey below.

There’s no magic formula for building a fine wine collection. It takes time. Like a painting, it’s created in layers – brushstrokes – some things added, some taken away. But when, at last, you savour a bottle you love at its peak maturity, it is one of life’s great pleasures.

Take pleasure in the planning process

When you think about starting your collection, it needs to be with an eye on medium- and long-term pleasure and potential. The idea of a well-planned collection is that once the wines start to reach maturity, you’ll have all the bottles you need. To do this, you’ll need to buy wines at the earliest opportunity in their lifespan, En Primeur.

Consider how much you want to spend

A love of wine is a prerequisite to starting a wine collection, but it’s a passion that comes with a price tag. And, if you want a wine collection that’s exciting in terms of drinking and flexibility, it will require a certain amount of investment. You don’t have to commit a lot to make it interesting but if you are collecting classic wines for the longer term it is a minimum of £250 a month with Cellar Plan.

Look beyond the blue-chip wines

If all the talk of classed growths and Grand Crus has left you feeling disheartened, fear not. There are plenty of less well-trodden routes to building a wine collection; especially if you’re looking ahead to unearth regions and producers that are likely to become increasingly rewarding.

Don’t be afraid to change your mind

As you get deeper into the wine world, you’ll find that your tastes develop and evolve meaning you may want to re-shape your collection. BBX, our fine wine exchange, is the world’s largest collection of fine wine, with almost £1 billion of customer-owned wines available to buy or bid on. It’s a thrill to explore and a great place to both sell your wine and buy new cases to grow your collection.

Wines 'in bond' have not yet had the Duty and VAT paid on them. They must be stored in a bonded warehouse approved by HM Customs & Excise. 

Buy wines in bond with us through our Japanese Private Account Managers 

Arrange wine shipments to Japan (additional Duty and local taxes apply). Payment for shipment and duties will be in GBP (Pound Sterling). 

  • By Sea Shipment* 
  • By Air Freight* 

Shipments to Japan by Sea are made 7 times a year. Time to deliver will take at least 3 months, including customs clearance. Transportation fee for: 

  • Per case of 12 @ £20 
  • Per case of 6 @ £10 

Air shipment is subject to availability. Please reach out to us at JapanEnquiries@bbr.com for more information. 

Store in our temperature-controlled, state-of-the-art warehouses in the UK. 

Storage charges are £13.20 (£11.40 for Cellar Plan members) per case per annum, starting from 3 cases 

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BUYING 'IN BOND'?

Wines stored in bond are much more attractive to prospective buyers and brokers. Merchants or brokers will usually give you the same price whether the wine is duty and VAT paid. Therefore, if you sell your wine in bond, you will save the equivalent VAT and duty charges. 

Traceability and Provenance - wines stored in bond are much easier to trace (there are a limited number of bonded warehouses). Buying from us guarantees that wines have been stored correctly.