The concept of En Primeur has been practiced in Bordeaux since the 18th century. Such a historic wine tradition might be regarded as romantic and a little outdated, but it still gets the wine world abuzz every year. What is En Primeur really about and does it speak to an audience wider than those already invested in wine – the makers, writers and critics?
En Primeur refers to an annual event that sees the first trade of wine from the latest vintage – while the wines are still in barrel, before they are bottled and released into the market. These en primeur wines are predominantly from France’s Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhône regions. The concept is that connoisseurs and collectors of fine wines, usually guided by wine critics and merchants, get the opportunity to purchase wine at prices better than what they would have paid if the wine was already released into the market. The en primeur prices are also exclusive of duty and VAT – you only pay that when you withdraw the wines you bought. Through the en primeur offering, those passionate about wine have the opportunity to acquire some of the world’s most sought-after wines that would be almost impossible to find or afford when they are released on the market in their final bottled format.
If you have a little patience and some savings, buying en primeur wines to receive two to three years after the vintage, can be an investment for both your pocket and palate. On the one hand, there is an exceptional feeling of exclusivity. Your wine comes to you directly from the Château and it hasn’t been traded by any other way than your initial purchase. It has been kept in perfect condition and it is yours to open and enjoy as you please. If you are more interested in its investment value than the enjoyment value, you can of course sell the wines which should by now be worth much more than your purchasing price. Investing in proper warehousing and having a relationship with a reputable merchant is of the essence if you want to resell.
When we have vintage changes at our estates, we invite our team to a Cellarmaster’s tasting, we send press releases and samples to media, trade information to our sales team and share information on the vintage, the Cellarmaster’s impressions and even recipes that will pair with the wine in communication to our followers. But all this pales in comparison to what happens during En Primeur. This highlight on the wine world calendar gives wine writers, buyers, experts and enthusiasts a lot to talk about. For the 2022 en primeur season, the conversation was bigger than the quality of the vintage and extended to climate change and the global economy.
Climate plays an important role in the finesse of French wine and when growing conditions for the 2022 vintage were warmer and drier than usual, climate change became part of the en primeur discussion with concerns on how the changing conditions would affect the quality of the harvest. When we were amidst a serious drought in the Cape Winelands a few years ago, La Motte Cellarmaster Edmund Terblanche said we underestimate the vine and that it actually enjoys a challenge. Wine critics seem to agree with him (read more) and this was definitely the case in France in 2021/2022 with the 2022 en primeur wines receiving the highest acclaim despite a dry and hot growing season.
- Jancis Robinson and James Lawther: “Winemakers have learnt from previous hot vintages such as 2003 and 2018, what to do and what not to do, but so, it seems, have the vines themselves… The wines are certainly extremely impressive’ and ‘Bordeaux lovers, brace yourselves!’”
- James Suckling: “Astonishing, 2022 is a new benchmark for Bordeaux”. I have never come across anything like 2022.” He also comments on how the winemakers have adapted to warmer and drier conditions but also praises the vine for its “resilient and adaptive nature.”
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown: “Bordeaux 2022 is a future classic!” She continues to say, “the top wines of the 2022 Bordeaux vintage are bright, multi-layered, and luminous. And there are a lot of them. This is a classic, great Bordeaux vintage.”
Of course, the quality of the wine is always the centre of attention, but a big part of the reason for En Primeur lies in the fact that it affords the opportunity to buy wine from Châteaux at a better price. With such an exceptional quality vintage, what did the pricing look like?
According to Decanter.com: “The global wine marketplace revealed that the average price of en primeur wines increased by 20.8% compared to 2021.” This is significantly higher than the 7.7% increase that was expected. Is this because of the exceptional quality? Perhaps. Justin Gibbs, deputy chairman of Liv-ex, the global marketplace for the wine trade, says: “The excitement surrounding the 2022 vintage at the UGC [Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux] tastings was infectious. The quality of the wines, unquestionable.”
But despite the exceptional quality and the excitement about the vintage, sales were down compared to 2020 in both value and volume and down compared to 2021 in volume. The point of En Primeur is access at a more affordable price and even when the quality is there, the investment might not make sense when the price is too high. The Liv-ex en primeur report says: “… simply holding cash in a savings account can generate a 5% annual return right now, so investors are less likely to buy an exotic, expensive asset like fine wine, which offers unknown returns, at a time when inflation is rife.”
According to merchants, the customer base is smaller and limited to traditional buyers and those who can afford the much higher en primeur price. In a time when we would like to make wine more accessible and attract a younger audience, this is a pity. I understand that accessibility from a Bordeaux perspective is something totally different from what we might mean with the term in a South African context, but in the end, it is to the benefit of the global wine industry, and yes, perhaps even to those exclusive Châteaux, if we can get more people than the critics, merchants and cellarmasters excited about wine.