En Primeur Campaign

En primeur refers to Bordeaux's system of selling wine while it is still ageing in barrel, before bottling and official commercial release. Buyers commit to purchasing at an opening price, with delivery following 18 to 24 months later once the wine is bottled. The practice has roots stretching back to the 18th century, when Bordeaux merchants visited châteaux to buy grapes and young wine directly. The modern structured campaign, built around a formal tasting week, was introduced in the 1970s and became firmly established in the early 1980s when Baron Philippe de Rothschild organised a high-profile tasting of his 1982 vintage still in barrel, drawing widespread press attention. Robert Parker's decisive championing of that same vintage, rating Mouton Rothschild and Petrus 100 points each in spring 1983, cemented the critical role of international scores in shaping en primeur demand.

• Literally means 'in first' or 'early,' referring to wine sold before it is bottled or commercially released
• The modern tasting week format was introduced in the 1970s by the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux and became an institution following the landmark 1982 vintage
• Wines are tasted as barrel samples in late April, with opening prices announced by châteaux in May and June following harvest
• Purchased wines remain at the château and are bottled and delivered 18 to 24 months after the campaign, meaning buyers pay for wine they will not receive for nearly two years

En primeur operates through a three-tier structure known as La Place de Bordeaux. Châteaux work with courtiers (brokers) to determine opening prices based on vintage quality and market conditions; courtiers then facilitate sales to négociants (wine merchants), who in turn distribute wines to retailers, restaurants, and collectors around the world. La Place de Bordeaux comprises around 300 négociants, of whom roughly 150 deal with Grand Cru Classé wines, and reaches merchants in approximately 170 countries. Courtiers earn a traditional commission of 2% on each transaction and play a crucial role in advising châteaux on appropriate pricing given current market sentiment. Châteaux typically release wines in tranches, with first-tranche buyers receiving preferential prices; subsequent tranches may be priced higher depending on demand.

• Courtiers advise châteaux on pricing, negotiate with négociants, and complete transactions, earning a 2% commission on each deal
• Around 300 négociants make up La Place de Bordeaux, distributing wines to merchants in approximately 170 countries
• Châteaux release wine in tranches; first-tranche buyers receive the opening price, with subsequent tranches potentially priced higher
• Négociants offer merchants staggered payment terms, typically requiring full payment before the end of the calendar year in which the wine is offered

Critical scores published during and immediately after the en primeur tasting week have a decisive influence on commercial outcomes. For much of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate scores were the dominant market force; Parker's early backing of the 1982 vintage against prevailing European opinion helped establish both his reputation and the centrality of American critical opinion in the Bordeaux market. Today, publications including Wine Advocate, Decanter, Vinous, Jancis Robinson's website, and James Suckling all publish barrel-sample scores that shape buyer sentiment. The challenge for critics is that barrel samples, tasted as few as six months after harvest, are fragile, variable from day to day, and often not yet in final blended form, making accurate assessment genuinely difficult.

• Robert Parker's decisive support for the 1982 Bordeaux vintage established the primacy of international critic scores in driving en primeur purchases
• Barrel samples tasted during the April campaign may not yet be in final blended form, making early scores inherently provisional
• High scores from major critics can drive rapid allocation sell-through; a poor or divided critical reception can significantly suppress négociant purchasing
• Critics today include Wine Advocate, Decanter, Vinous (Antonio Galloni and Neal Martin), Jancis Robinson MW, and James Suckling, among others

The original commercial rationale for buying en primeur was straightforward: buyers secured allocation of sought-after wines at a discount to anticipated future bottled prices, while châteaux received early cash flow to fund ongoing vineyard and cellar operations. In strong vintages, early buyers could acquire wines at meaningfully lower prices than those wines would fetch once bottled and released. However, following a period of aggressive price inflation, particularly between 2009 and 2022, this fundamental logic has been undermined in many campaigns. In four of the five vintages between 2018 and 2023, secondary market prices were lower than the original en primeur release price, eroding the investment case for many buyers. Savings of up to 30% compared to bottled wine prices remain achievable in well-priced campaigns, but this is no longer guaranteed.

• The founding principle of en primeur is that buyers pay less than the eventual bottled market price in exchange for buying early and waiting for delivery
• In four of the five vintages between 2018 and 2023, secondary market prices were reported to be lower than original en primeur release prices
• En primeur buyers must also consider counterparty risk; choosing a reputable, financially sound merchant is essential as wines remain un-bottled for up to two years
• Savings of up to 30% versus bottled wine prices are cited as achievable in fairly priced campaigns, though this has become less consistent in recent years

The 1982 vintage remains the defining moment in en primeur history, demonstrating the system's power to generate global excitement and sustained value. The 2009 and 2010 campaigns represented a commercial high-water mark, generating intense global demand, but also triggered the aggressive pricing that would later destabilise the system. Château Latour's announcement in April 2012 that it would withdraw from en primeur from the 2012 vintage onward sent a shockwave through the trade; Latour's first grand vin under the new policy, the 2012, was not released until May 2020. COVID-19 forced the 2019 and 2020 campaigns to be conducted via remote sample tastings and virtual meetings, a format that the trade has largely adapted to. The 2023 campaign was widely described as a commercial failure despite a quality vintage, and by late 2024 négociants were refusing to buy allocations from some châteaux for the first time.

• The 1982 vintage, championed by Robert Parker, is widely regarded as the campaign that defined modern en primeur and opened the US market to Bordeaux futures
• Château Latour withdrew from en primeur from the 2012 vintage, with its grand vin only released for sale from May 2020 onward under the new policy
• The 2019 and 2020 campaigns were conducted via remote barrel sample tastings and virtual meetings due to COVID-19, adapting a centuries-old tradition to pandemic conditions
• By 2024, only around 50 out of 212 châteaux that had previously sold full allocations en primeur were able to do so, reflecting severely weakened demand

En primeur faces genuine structural headwinds entering the mid-2020s. The Place de Bordeaux, described as a roughly 1.4 billion euro business in 2024, has seen négociants accumulate unsold stock from multiple vintages, weakening their appetite to buy new allocations. Asian demand, which drove dramatic price increases over the prior decade, has cooled significantly. Secondary market prices for Bordeaux First Growths tracked by Liv-ex fell approximately 24% over 2022 to 2024. Meanwhile, the system's core promise of buying at the lowest future price has been repeatedly broken by overpricing. The 2024 campaign, launched against a backdrop of US tariff uncertainty and further Chinese market weakness, saw leading châteaux including Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, and Cheval Blanc cutting prices by 22 to 36% in an effort to reconnect with buyers. The debate about en primeur's long-term relevance continues, with many in the trade seeing its role evolving from a commercial sales mechanism toward a marketing showcase for each new vintage.

• Liv-ex's Fine Wine 50 index, tracking Bordeaux First Growth prices, fell approximately 24% over 2022 to 2024 after a post-COVID boom
• Asian demand, particularly from mainland China, which had driven price surges over the previous decade, has cooled markedly in recent campaigns
• For the 2024 campaign, major châteaux including Mouton Rothschild (-22%), Lafite Rothschild (-29%), and Cheval Blanc (-28%) cut prices significantly in an attempt to stimulate buyer interest
• Industry observers note that en primeur may increasingly serve as a vintage showcase and PR event rather than primarily a commercial sales mechanism