En Primeur Terms of Use
En Primeur refers to the transaction of purchasing wine before it is bottled and sold on the market. Un primer wines are usually delivered two to three years after harvest, and are usually single varietal wines in cases (the number of cases varies depending on the wine). The wine is usually delivered two to three years after the harvest and sold by the case (the number of cases varies depending on the wine, e.g. 12 regular bottles, 24 half bottles, 6 magnum bottles, etc.) of a single varietal.
Bonded Goods
Once bottled and delivered to Berry Brothers & Rudd in the UK, the cases of wine are first stored in a bonded warehouse. This means that at this point, no taxes or value-added tax (VAT) levied by the UK government on the wine are paid. Therefore, if a customer wishes to have wine in bonded warehouse delivered to Japan, the customer must pay liquor tax, customs duty, and consumption tax in addition to the sales price. You may continue to store the purchased wine in the bonded warehouse. Please contact us for details.
Prices
Berry Brothers & Rudd's En primeur price lists and catalogs featuring specific wine brands provide an overview and price for each wine. All prices shown are bonded (pre-tax) and include the cost of shipping and delivery to our warehouse in the UK. Prices are subject to currency and market fluctuations and availability.
Please note that prices are subject to exchange rates when converted into yen. In addition, delivery charges, liquor tax, customs duty (approximately 400 yen per bottle), and consumption tax (10%) will be incurred when importing into Japan. (Shipping charges vary by air and sea.) A minimum annual storage fee of ￡41.40 will be charged for each case of wine stored in our dedicated wine cellar at our UK headquarters. This will cover 3 cases (12 bottles per case) and an annual storage fee of ￡13.80 per 12 bottles per case will be charged thereafter. (as of May 2020).
Delivery and Storage
For deliveries, normal delivery regulations apply (see above). Upon request, we can store your wine as "Customer Private Reserve".
Unless otherwise instructed, incoming wine will first go directly into the customer's private reserve, which is located in a bonded warehouse. You will be notified by email as soon as the wine arrives at the private reserve. Wines entered into the Private Reserve in this manner will not be charged an initial fee until the regular annual storage fee on your account is due.
If upon receipt of this email or upon receipt of an invoice for the warehousing charges incurred, you wish to have the wine delivered to your location, we will arrange for delivery in accordance with our normal delivery policies. We will refund to your account the amount of the warehouse charge for this wine that has been deducted within 30 days of the date of the invoice for the warehouse charge. If you choose to leave the bonded warehouse, you will be required to pay any applicable taxes and VAT at the time of delivery. Please contact us for details on the current applicable tax and VAT rates. *An annual storage fee of £13.80 will be charged when deposited with us. (There is a minimum annual storage charge of £41.40. (There is a minimum annual storage fee of £41.40 which can be applied to the storage of 3 cases (36 bottles) of wine.)
Insurance and Ownership
Incoming wine will be insured at our expense for the amount of the original invoice until delivery or storage is completed as directed by the customer. Ownership of the wine will pass to the customer upon settlement of all outstanding accounts.
Wine Application Deadlines and Shipping Dates
Wines by en primeur are usually offered for sale based on a specific brand (vintage) and have a set cutoff date for orders. Please refer to the brand-specific order deadlines listed on our website or in the specific vintage catalog. While the website and catalogs will list the expected bottling and UK shipment dates for the applicable wines, these dates are only an indication and cannot be guaranteed with certainty.
Ordering
Orders are processed according to the procedure described at the beginning of these Terms and Conditions and based on availability. In some cases, we may determine the allocation of certain wines based on the number of orders we receive. In such cases, the allocation of inventory to prospective purchasers will be made at Berry Bros. & Rudd's sole discretion (and in making such allocations, Berry Bros. & Rudd will always strive for fair and just distribution). In such cases, some customers may not receive an allocation of their order or may receive less than their order amount. Orders will be accepted only if there is unsold inventory available.