Atlas provides an independent consultancy service to parties requiring tailored advice on starting a private collection or on valuating one that has been built up with other providers in the market.
Buying En Primeur
En Primeur is a French term which means 'the first', as it gives wine collectors the chance to secure a wine at the first opportunity while it’s still maturing in barrels and for delivery in bottle at a later date. When bought En Primeur, prices are exclusive of Duty and VAT as these wines are shipped to a bonded warehouse and Duty and VAT are payable when you take delivery. When buying En Primeur, the wine will still be maturing and won’t be ready for consumption for up two years.
While Bordeaux was the first region to offer wines in this way, many other regions offer their wine En Primeur, most notably Burgundy, Rhone and Italy.
Why buy En Primeur wine?
Gives you the chance to secure particular wines at the earliest opportunity
Gives you access to wines that may be in low supply or go up in price after being bottled
May allow you to purchase a wine at the most competitive price and spread the cost by deferring the duty and VAT payment until ready to drink
Gives you the confidence the wine has come from a credible source and a traceable history from release
Lets you taste the same wine over a period of several years to see how the wine develops
How to buy En Primeur wine
Browse our En Primeur wine offers (link) and add them to your basket just like other wines to have them placed in a reserves account. You can also speak to one of our consultants if you would like to ensure you get first access by being personally notified of specific En Primeur releases.
Wines purchased en primeur are normally purchased excluding duty and VAT. When the wine arrives in the UK, it is automatically delivered to and stored at our bonded warehouse where it will be stored in optimum conditions. Each case tracked by a Unique Identifier code and insured by Atlas. You can manage your reserves at any time thanks to your Atlas online account and request to take delivery of the wines – at which time you be required to pay the prevailing rate of UK duty and VAT.
Each quarter, you will receive notification of any of your wines that has been shipped into the UK. This information can also be found on your Atlas online account.
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Buying wine in bond
A popular way of buying and storing wine is to purchase it whilst it’s in bond. This simply means that the wine is stored in a H.M. Customs & Excise-approved bonded warehouse and that duty and VAT is deferred the wine leaves the bonded warehouse for home delivery.
Wines bought in the UK for delivery are subject to both duty and VAT. If buying a wine for immediate delivery (duty paid), these are both included in the quoted price on our website.
Why buy in bond?
Buying in bond allows you to easily build a wine collection and preserve it in optimum conditions if you choose a state-of-the-art storage solution (link to our cellarage guide).
It also allows you to keep a traceable history of its care and provenance – important particularly if you wish to sell your wine at a later date.
Buying in bond also allows you to spread the cost of purchase by deferring the payment of duty and VAT on your wine until such a time as you wish to have the wine delivered.
Should you wish to sell the wine, buyers will usually only pay the same in-bond price regardless of whether or not the wine is duty paid.
How does duty work?
Duty is a fixed charge, set by the government during the budget. Duty remains the same regardless of the cost of the wine and is based on the ABV of the wine. The level of Duty you pay is whatever is current at the time of delivery.
Duty is subject to Value Added Tax (VAT) which is chargeable on the value of the wine – based on what you paid for it, not market price.
Interesting in starting your own wine collection? Chat with one of our advisors here (chat box) or book a free 20 minute consultation (link to contact page).
