"The media have been united in its proclamations that primeur doesn’t work. They are wrong. Primeur does work – but only at the right price."

-Neal Martin

What is En Primeur?

En Primeur is (or was) a way for producers to secure sales and a way for buyers to secure wines, especially those from highly sought-after estates. 

• En Primeur is the practice of buying wines before they are bottled and released to the market. 
• This is often done while the wine is still aging in barrels at the châteaux. 
• It's particularly useful for securing wines from top producers whose wines can be difficult to acquire later. 

The contemporary En Primeur system was launched by leading Bordeaux merchants approximately 60 years ago. Following World War II, numerous châteaux faced management and financial difficulties. At that time, merchants who were often more influential and proactive than even the most esteemed 1st growth estates agreed to purchase wines in advance from top producers. This arrangement offered essential financial support to struggling chateaux and enabled merchants to establish their own pricing.

In the 1970s, the Bordeaux wine market saw significant growth as global interest in fine wines increased. This shift allowed producers more control over pricing and profits, which they reinvested into improving winemaking and vineyard management. The 1982 vintage marked a pivotal moment, being both high in quality and quantity. It attracted significant interest, particularly from the US market, where investors in the 1982 En Primeur saw substantial returns. This further boosted Bordeaux’s reputation and solidified its position in the global wine industry. Until the mid-2000s, the En Primeur system represented the best way to purchase Bordeaux wines at affordable prices. But as the bull market of 2009 and 2010 saw increasingly high release prices for fine wine, buying in advance became something of a gamble, with higher risks for potentially-low rewards.

Ever since then, the En Primeur system has been in a state of flux, with châteaux facing pricing challenges, and, thanks to digital data and real-time market monitoring, a consumer base more informed than ever before on the likelihood of ROI. Some experts claim the system still has a crucial place in the wine investment arena others believe it’s time to adopt a new approach.

The most recent 2024 En Primeur has highlighted the limbo this once successful approach to buying Bordeaux once was: now that the most recent campaign is more or less over, it is generally considered a massive failure. Merchants say it’s the worst on record, with demand collapsing, even for 1st growths – with a third of growers facing severe financial distress.

Where did it go wrong?

2009, the 2nd most expensive vintage of all time after the 2010, was so successful it fuelled greed and a sense of invincibility. Proprietors rebranded wines as luxury goods and financial investments, luring in a wave of speculators. Every excuse to hike prices was seized. Every reason to drop them (in poorer years), was conveniently ignored. As prices rocketed, loyal drinkers and buyers were left by the wayside.

Why is 2024 EP, and EP in general, continuing to fail?

Many of the Bordelais in the most recent campaign (2024) reduced their prices by up to 30% compared to last year’s prices, but in reality, they needed to look to reduce the prices by at least 50%. Why? Because there are more than several back vintages which are ‘physically’ available, as in already bottled and in (or verging on) its drinking window. Furthermore, there are better quantities available, overall better years, more classics such as 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the prices are pound for pound better, because people want to invest and collect into products which have shown more organic growth, rather than buying something which is artificially inflated in price. 

Is it all doom and gloom? 

No. If you have an open mind that is.

There are many other wine regions which have Bordeaux-like qualities and mannerisms about them, and which command a fraction of the price whilst offering the same, if not better scores, as well as possessing similar drinking windows. To this, collectors have started to pay attention…

From Tuscany, you have the likes of Sassicaia and Masseto, the former using Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Sangiovese and the latter using 100% Merlot. Where does that sound familiar? A lot of the Bordeaux 1^st growths (like Lafite, Latour, and Haut-Brion) predominately use Cabernet Sauvignon, whilst the latter, Masseto, exactly like Petrus and Le Pin, use 100% Merlot. However, when we look below at comparative vintage years and cost per case, we can see a stark contrast in pricing.

Sassicaia 2016, with its perfect 100 score, averages £3,750.00 per 12x75cl and is compared to their legendary 1985, which sells for £3,700.00 per bottle (75cl) on average. Compare Sassicaia to its Bordeaux counterpart, Latour 2016, also with a perfect 100, and which averages £6,500.00 per 12x75cl – they possess the same score and similar drinking windows, yet the difference in price equates to 73%.

Masseto 2021, score: 100, averaging £1,700.00 per 3x75cl, when compared to its equal from Bordeaux, Petrus 2021, score: 95, and averaging £6,800.00 per 3x75cl, you find a price difference of 300%.

To be clear, there is no doubt about the quality of the wines from Bordeaux. The history and the respective scores prove that. It is the pricing which presents a big issue.

Another example of that, if we look at California vs Bordeaux, would be Opus One versus Mouton Rothschild. These two wines are practically family, because Opus One is the co-venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Mouton Rothschild, however if we look at the same vintage years from a more recent time, we can, once again, see the underlying problem: pricing.

Opus One 2021, score: 100, averages £1,500.00 per 6x75cl. Its sibling, Mouton Rothschild 2021, score: 94, averages £2,400.00 per 6x75cl. A difference of 60% in price. Should a 94-point scoring wine (which is a good score by the way) be 60% higher in price versus a perfect scoring wine? You know the answer to that question already…

In Spain we go to the most recently awarded ‘Number 1 Most Powerful Fine Wine Brand In The World’, Vega Sicilia, and we can witness the fault of the pricing matrix with En Primeur once again. Vega Sicilia Unico 2010, score: 100, averages £900.00 per 3x75cl. Château Margaux 2010, score: 100, averages £1,920.00 per 3x75cl. Just over a 110% difference in pricing.

As reported via Decanter in December 2024 when, Liv-Ex released their "Power 100" list, they had this to say about the Spanish winery's rise to the top:

'Vega Sicilia leads the power rankings after trade volumes increased by 324% and value shot up by 310%. ‘With considerable heritage – it was first produced in 1915 – and still representing good value, it is unlikely to be a flash in the pan,’ said Liv-ex.'

I’d like to present a quote from Stephen Brook, from his ‘Complete Bordeaux: 4th edition: The Wines, The Chateaux, The People’:

“Anthony Barton told me in 2004: The pricing of the top growths has got completely out of hand. I asked one of my neighbours, who is fairly open about these things, what he planned to do in a recent vintage. “Oh,” he said, “I’ll probably increase my prices by 10 or 15 per cent.” Needless to say, he came out about 40 per cent higher. When I taunted him gently about this a few weeks later, he shrugged his shoulders and murmured: “Quand le train passe, je monte dessus.”. I’m known for keeping my prices fairly stable, and let me tell you, I’m still making good money. The problem with ridiculous price increases is that it turns Bordeaux into a speculative market. Of course it has always been that way, but it’s becoming more exaggerated. And that makes it impossible for smaller properties to get by. They can’t possibly match the prices of the top growths, so there is a vast pool of well-made wine, especially from crus bourgeois, for which there is little market. And while the top properties keep ratcheting up their prices, they ignore the fact that there is a good deal of unsold stock in Bordeaux.”

The more things change, the more things remain the same, there is, however, clearly still a strong demand for Bordeaux. They still own 40-50% of the market share depending on which week it is, so it is clear the people still want their Clarets, but what is old is new, and that is what is keeping Bordeaux's market share at that aforementioned level. If we go back 15+ years when En Primeur was ethically priced, Bordeaux's market share was around 98% as the demand for old and new Bordeaux was omnipresent. It is clear that in years since, investors and consumers have, as they always do, voted with their wallets.

Will En Primeur be around in 2030? If the situation continues as is, it will not be surprising if it was to become defunct and Bordeaux will only have itself to blame. And the irony in all of this is that the newer vintage years which were (are) grossly overpriced will be reduced in price to help shift stock in the years to come, as vintages from the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's become less and less. Plus, when we take into consideration global warming and its effects that it has on the style of wines being produced, Bordeaux need to do something drastic in order to retain not only their older audience, but also the audience of tomorrow's world who will come from generational backgrounds of people who have been loyal to Bordeaux throughout the years, because this new generation is more open-minded than the generations of yesteryear, and with that, they are also a lot more price-conscious; this is where the above examples of Vega Sicilia, Opus One, Masseto, Sassicaia, etc. fall into the hands of the newer wealth.

“Sir, you are drunk.”

“And you, madam, are ugly. But in the morning, I shall be sober.” 

—Sir Winston Churchill.

Bordeaux too has the ability to sober up, to be beautiful once again, but navigating the intricacies of the modern campaigns is by no means straightforward. It is at times like this when the importance of enlisting market expertise cannot be overstated. Having worked in the fine wine market for well over a decade, with over 100 years of combined market experience at our disposal, CB Wine is perfectly poised to advise our clients and position them into areas providing the best opportunities for growth. We benefit from the luxury of freedom, with no obligations to any En Primeur campaigns, instead  uncovering those gems hidden within this and future En Primeur campaigns for CB clients.

Let's just hope for a more attractive initial showing next year… Now where have I heard that before?