One wine expert has warned that there are many changes that a wine can undergo following the en primeur Bordeaux tastings.

Decanter editor Guy Woodward explains that buying wine when it is young is occasionally a "gamble", because the wines are being assessed after just six months, when they will remain in barrel for another 18 months before ageing for years in the bottle.

Wine buyers may therefore wish to stick with established names en primeur, and perhaps sample lesser-known wines once they have been bottled and aged.

However, Mr Woodward explains that wine enthusiasts will always want to get cases of fine Bordeaux en primeur, so it is important that they are given as much possible at the point of sale.

Renowned Robert Parker recently announced his en primeur Bordeaux scores for the 2010 vintage, awarding nine estates, including Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Latour, potentially-perfect scores of 98-100 points.