The term “sticker shock” was coined to describe the reaction to soaring new-car prices in the 1970s. Now sticker shock is back, only this time it applies to cases of new wine. Newer than new, in fact, since the wine has yet to be bottled, let alone packed into wooden cases emblazoned with the name of a favored chateau. Surprisingly or obscenely, depending on your view, a single case of that wine could cost as much as a new car.

The topic here is the futures prices of Bordeaux, vintage 2005. Walking in the region’s vineyards last September, as one sunny day followed another, I noted the perfect bunches of grapes heavy on the vines, portending a high-priced vintage. Little did I imagine just how high. Last June, I couldn’t muster the courage to face the record opening prices for Bordeaux 2005 “futures.” In some cases, they have tripled over previous highs. Paid for now, the wines won’t be delivered until spring or autumn 2008. Expect to wait a decade or more to for them to give drinking pleasure.

What’s pushing the perfect wave of vintage 2005 prices? It started with the excitement of the wine trade, which got its first barrel tastings of the vintage during early spring visits to Bordeaux. Just about everyone felt these wines trumped even the great 2000 vintage. Add in increased worldwide demand, notably from the Pacific Rim. The weakness of the dollar also stiffens prices. Finally, the top properties have cannily pushed up prices by releasing only small amounts — as little as 10% — of their new wine as futures. They could then watch the scramble before dribbling out additional futures at higher prices. “Some chateaus only released a few hundred cases into the New York market,” one broker told me. “That’s a drop in the bucket compared to demand from retailers and restaurants.”

Two weeks ago, I finally faced the ugly reality of what Bordeaux 2005 will cost as I pored over an e-mail offering from Cortlandt Wines, an enterprising, unsnobby shop in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., that normally touts bargains like a peppery red Cotes-du-Rhone at $11 or a snappy white Rueda from Spain at $9. But here was a different order of magnitude. The first wine on the list was Chateau Cheval Blanc 2005, the standard-bearer of Saint-Emilion, at $10,500 a case. Then Chateau d’Yquem 2005, Sauternes, at $8,400 a case, and Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2005, Pauillac, at a mere $6,800 a case.

The top of the line is Chateau Petrus 2005, offered by Morrell & Company at $24,000 a case, although it’s currently out of stock. No doubt the restocked price will be higher.

I called Cortlandt’s chief executive, Patrick Cippolone, to ask how he felt about asking this kind of money for such a young vintage. “These are not reasonable prices,” he said. “I am shocked by them. We hesitated to play this game and I bought only 20% of our normal futures allotment. … Bordeaux is no longer wine in a box, it’s an investment vehicle.” Whatever happened, I wondered, to the old notion of wine in the glass?

Next, I called a consultant to wealthy collectors. Was I, or any normal consumer, out of the loop to be surprised by the Bordeaux 2005 prices? “Don’t identify me,” he said, “because I am already in trouble with a major chateau for my views. But I am completely flabbergasted by these prices. I was doing a little exercise comparing the price increases since 1983 of filet mignon compared to Chateau Petrus. If the filet mignon had increased at the same rate as the Petrus, it would now cost about $300 per pound.A lot of this crazy pricing is the result of the top chateaus jocking among themselves for position. They release a small quantity of wine at very high prices and then trickle out a little more at an even higher price. And each wants to be higher than the others.”

I asked him about rumors that upward pressure on prices for the most desirable wines is coming from heavy-pocketed Pacific Rim and Russian moguls? “Everyone talks about these wonderful new wine markets,” the consultant said.”I’ve checked with brokers in London and Bordeaux and they just don’t see it. The most important market for a hot vintage is the good old U.S.A.”

While it is the First Growths that jockey among themselves to command top dollar, lesser properties have jumped on the 2005 rocketship. From Saint-Emilion, for example, Chateau Pavie is priced at $3,850, and Chateau l’Angelus at $3,300. Suddenly, a case of Alter Ego de Palmer 2005 — the second wine of Chateau Palmer, a high performing Margaux — seemed like it was going for peanuts at $530 a case. Palmer itself is $2,750 a case.

Bordeaux futures are often acquired by speculators with an eye on the auction room rather than the dinner table. Wondering what an auctioneer would think of the capital gains potential of Bordeaux 2005, I called Richard Brierley, head of Christie’s North American wine department. “From a personal standpoint, it’s a sad thing, because these prices put the wines out of my personal reach,” he said. “I always look for the thrill of the chase — where can I find something that is, so to speak, fighting above its weight? So yes, these prices are crazy. Yes, they have gone too far for most wine consumers. But these purchasers are not most wine consumers.”

From a “professional standpoint,” Mr. Brierley sees opportunity in the wake of the soaring 2005 futures. “What is the knock-on effect on wonderful Bordeaux vintages like 1982, 1995, 1996, and 2000?” he asks. “All these wines have now got to also jump in value. For now, they are an undervalued asset class. You can buy the 1982 Cheval Blanc, which was extremely successful, for the same price as the 2005. You can buy 1985 Chateau Latour for under $400 per bottle [compared to more than $800 for the 2005 future]. And one can buy the 1995 Chateau Petrus for half the price of the 2005.”

Mr. Brierley’s bottom line: It may make more sense for wine lovers, as opposed to wine investors, to go after “well-stored five-, 10-, and 15-year-old wines.” Christie’s next New York auction will be on September 16. This columnist won’t be buying 2005 futures, but he plans to be at the auction with paddle in hand and eyes on older Bordeaux that still remains affordable.

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Wine dinners can be heavy going on a midsummer evening, but that shouldn’t be the case with the Mark Hotel’s Riesling Wine Dinner on August 7. It features four Mosel rieslings from S.A. Prum, low-alcohol examples from the Mosel region of Germany. At 7 p.m., Prum’s Jerome Hasenpflug will offer a Riesling tasting and discussion, followed by dinner at 8 p.m. $95 a person. The Mark is at 25 E. 77th St. Reservations: 212-606-4529.