Fine wine traders – mainly UK

The following list may be useful for those of you currently considering 2005 bordeaux primeur purchases. Britain is still a major hub of the fine wine market even if American salerooms seem to have overtaken their British counterparts on the secondary market. A substantial proportion of the world's fine wine rests undisturbed for years or even decades in damp cellars and warehouses in London and Wiltshire, even though its ownership may have changed several times during its stint there.

These are some of Britain's most prominent specialist fine wine traders with links to their websites if they exist (see the directory otherwise). Let me know via the Contact button at the bottom of any page if you think some other outfit deserves inclusion:

Many of the more traditional wine merchants also have fine wine trading and broking arms, often selling the wines they originally sold to one customer, and warehoused for them, to another. They operate in direct competition with the specialist fine wine traders (who also broke, ie sell, wine on behalf of their customers).

Most obvious examples include:
 

A look at any, or preferably several, of the printed lists and/or websites of these operators will give you a good feel for current market prices. In my experience some traders overprice some items and underprice others (bit like antique dealers really). The more work you do, the better the deal you're likely to get. Good luck!

My attention has also been drawn to