French lovers of Bordeaux red wine are angry they cannot afford to drink the acclaimed 2005 vintage which is breaking price records before it has even been bottled, reports the South African newspaper, Mail-Guardian. A case of the top-end wine -- Chateau Margaux -- is on sale at more than twice the previous record, even though it will not be delivered until 2008 at the earliest. Owners will then have to at least another 10 years before cracking it open.

"We think, and everybody who has tasted it agrees, that 2005 is an exceptional vintage," said Paul Pontallier, managing director of Chateau Margaux, one of the top five producers to carry the distinguished first-growth label.

The influential US wine critic Robert Parker awarded Chateau Margaux a 96-100 out of a maximum of 100 after a tasting in the spring.

Vintners Berry Brothers & Rudd in London is selling cases of Chateau Margaux for £5,340. That is an increase of £540 from the end of June, when the wine en primeur (still in casks) first went on sale at the highest release price ever for Chateau Margaux.

The most expensive year before 2005 was in 2000 when the release price was £2,000 a case. A case of 2004 Chateau Margaux en primeur went for £1,080.

For the complete story, go to http://www.mg.co.za