En Primeur
In simple terms, ‘En Primeur’ means wine sold before it has been bottled and made physically available to customers (if it were oil or pork bellies, it would be called ‘futures’)
.After selecting a range of wines, usually from Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône in France or, increasingly, from northern Italy, a merchant will offer them ‘En Primeur’ at advantageous prices. They may not be shipped for two years or more, as in the case of top Bordeaux Chateaux, for example, but usually it’s within 6 months to a year.
Customers make their choice and pay (exclusive of all taxes) when they place their order. Once the wine has been shipped, they can choose between having the wine transferred into their own bonded account or delivered to their home once duty, VAT and any other relevant charges (such as handling and delivery costs) have been paid.
So why buy ‘En Primeur’? There are three main reasons:
It is a way of securing the wines you want to drink in the future at a reasonable price. Demand for the best wines from these regions has grown hugely in the last few years and will often easily outstrip supply (especially in Burgundy, where production is much smaller than in Bordeaux). Therefore, some wines will not be available commercially later in their lives or, if they are, will command much higher prices.
Buying wine ‘En Primeur’ gives you the security of knowing the wine’s provenance from the very start of its life – you have complete control over where and how it is cellared.
Financial investment. As a rule, investment (and there have been, and will continue to be, exceptions) only works if one buys the top, most sought-after wines, but these are always expensive and often require the buyer to purchase other wines at the same time.
Pre-shipping Offers
Our ‘pre-shipping’ offers are gaining in popularity. Unlike ‘En Primeur’, they relate to bottles of wine that physically exist and are ready to deliver. These offers help both us and the winery by indicating the quantities we will need to order and ship, thus removing a little of the guess work. In return, we reward our customers by offering reduced prices for an early commitment.
Should you wish to take advantage of our ‘en primeur’ and ‘pre-shipping’ offers and, quite frankly, Why wouldn’t you?
Please sign up to our newsletter.