(Decanter) - London’s wine merchants were delighted this morning to get a preview of Dom Perignon 2004 – as one said, ‘Finally, something we can sell’ after the lacklustre Bordeaux en primeur campaign.

Indeed, Gareth Birchley of Bordeaux Index told Decanter.com they have sold 3000 six-bottle cases within the last two hours - a repeat of their instant sell-out of the Dom Perignon Rosé 2002, which was released in January.

‘We’ve sold three times our original allocation. That’s £1m worth since nine o’clock this morning.’

Buyers were ‘predominantly from the UK,’ Birchley said. ‘It’s by far our biggest market for prestige Champagne.’ He added that they were expecting such a demand.

Vincent Chaperon, Dom Perignon’s chief oenologist and second in command to chef de cave Richard Geoffroy, was in London this morning for a ‘soft launch’ of the 2004 vintage to wine merchants.