En Primeur

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En Primeur or "Wine Futures", is a method of purchasing wines early while a vintage is still in a barrel, offering the customer the opportunity to invest in a particular wine before it is bottled. Payment is made at an early stage, a year or 18 months prior to the official release of a vintage.

The concept is best applicable to wine from wineries that compete for top ratings year after year, whose product may grow in value as years pass. The advantage of buying wines en primeur is that they will normally be considerably cheaper than they would be once a bottle is released on the market.

The wines most common offered en primeur are from Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and Port, although other regions are adapting the practice.^[1]

1 Process
- 1.1 Advantages to the producer
- 1.2 Advantages to the customer
2 References
3 External links

[edit] Process

In most cases, the wines are still in oak casks when they are sold en primeur (approx 6 months after harvest in Bordeaux). However, in some cases the wines have been bottled but are still stored in the cellars of the producers until considered mature enough for release.

An en primeur wine gives the owner the right to receive the respective bottles of wines once the producer has completed the maturing phase of the wine. The purchase unit is always in unmixed cases, each containing 12 bottles, 24 half bottles or 6 magnums. Wine bought en primeur is often directly placed into custom-free storage holding, 'in bond'.

Known as a delicate method of investment, a purchase may ultimately be deemed a loss, or there may be considerable profit. For example, the 1982 vintage of Château Latour, was sold at £250 a case en primeur, while valued in 2007 at £9,000.^[2]

[edit] Advantages to the producer

The producer is able to benefit from an improved cash flow system and a guaranteed exclusive and high level sale of the product. This concept has existed in Bordeaux for centuries and was only occasionally used in other areas such as Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Ribera del Duero, and Rioja. In Italy some work is being done to promote the development of Italian en primeur market.

In the area of Bordeaux, for example, each year at the end of March, the "Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux" reveals the results of the previous harvest. These verdicts are then the basis for the prices and allocations made to the different professionals as well as the rest of the world.

[edit] Advantages to the customer

Today, the en primeur customers pay a price upfront which is the release price and then pay any taxes and duties such as VAT and shipping costs upon delivery of the wine. The advantage of this system to wine buyers is that even though they have to pay for their wines in advance, they pay the lowest possible price and have guaranteed delivery. It also provides unique access to wine that may otherwise be difficult to buy, in the case of wineries with low quantity production. Buyers of en primeur wines are experts, investors and wine enthusiasts.