(AFP) - Global wine buyers converge on Bordeaux for the annual futures sale that opens Monday, with a hit-and-miss vintage seen as a chance to pull skyrocketing prices back down to Earth. This year the main organiser of the event, the Union of the Grands Crus (UGC), expects to welcome about 5,000 wine professionals to the southwestern French city. Considering the chaotic weather that could have spelled disaster for grape quality, the mood was buoyant ahead of the barrel tastings kicking off the sale. "As a wine lover, I always feel very privileged that I get to have a look at all these babies," said London merchant Simon Staples of Berry Bros & Rudd.