Bordeaux futures are being offered by local wine shops and some national retailers, and by any standard the prices are ludicrous, writes Paul Gregutt, The Seattle Times wine columnist.

Not that there aren't plenty of buyers lined up to plunk down thousands of dollars for wines that won't even arrive for another two or three years - the reviews have been that good. ("Futures" are paid for and ordered now but not delivered until the wines have been blended, barreled and bottled.)

But still, I had to scratch my head when I saw, for example, that the 2005 Mouton is being offered locally for US$660! For a bottle, not a case!! Lafite is priced the same. These are first-growth wines, to be sure, but even the influential Wine Advocate gave the Mouton "just" a 94-96 rating, while Lafite drew a 93-96+. In the newsletter's same issue, there were 19 Washington wines rated 94 and above, and several dozen more in the 90-93 range. The most expensive of these was US$100, and most were far less.

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