What is En Primeur?
En Primeur, also known also as Wine Futures, is best described as 'getting in first'. En Primeur is an opportunity to secure a large range of wines from Bordeaux while they are still in barrel. By doing this you pay significantly less than waiting to see these wines on retail shelves, as well as having access to many wines that never make it onto retail shelves.
How does it work?
In the first part of the process, the wine experts evaluate the vintage, through a series of tastings En Primeur. Meaning the wines are prepared from barrel samples to be represent the final wines. These samples are presented for tasting in Bordeaux. It’s this tasting that our General Manager, Liz Wheadon was at this year. The wines are then offered En Primeur through Bordeaux’s open market system ‘La Place’ A rather complex system of courtiers and multiple Negociants that works rather well. The timing of the releases should be throughout May and into June. The exact timing variable and dependent on each Chateau. Glengarry has longstanding relationships with the best negociants in France, and we have been offering En Primeur to our key customers for many years now – in fact we started offering En Primeur with the 1982 vintage (a rather good place to start)
How much do I save and how long do I wait?
The savings are obviously different depending on the wines concerned, but you can generally expect to pay 50% less than what the wines would fetch upon their final release on the open market. In addition, you are not being asked to pay the full price up front. Payments are made in two installments. The First is later this year. The Second and final is due on or before collection of the wines, which should be towards the middle of 2025.
What are the Advantages of securing wine in this fashion?
The benefits are many. The first is availability. Some of these wines are only available En Primeur, i.e. they will never reach the open market. Even if some of these wines do make it to the retail shelves eventually the quantities available will be extremely limited. Secondly, with supply and demand in force price is almost always well above that at which you would enjoy buying En Primeur. And you get some of the best wines in the world! It makes simple economic sense.
Glengarry Benefits
Within that French market, particularly at the upper level, Glengarry are very successful with our Bordeaux En Primeur offering. We lead the market in terms of cases shipped and dollar turnover mainly through our loyal customers and our longstanding relationships with the best negociants; enabling us to offer the best wines in reasonable volumes, even in high demand years such as 2005, 2009 and 2010. The Glengarry En Primeur service has been running since we offered the 1982 vintage. We are able to offer the security of experience and expertise in this exciting and growing wine service.
With our longstanding relationships and our experience honed over 40-odd years, we are old hands at this, and once again we are making the commitment to ensure you the best service and advice, with Liz Wheadon having been in Bordeaux in April to taste the 2022 vintage during the primeur week.
How do you get started?
ON-LINE
Go to www.glengarry.co.nz and click on En Primeur tab or straight to www.enprimeur.co.nz; there’s a simple registration form to complete and you are set. You’ll receive offers as they become available, by your preferred means of communication.
IN-PERSON
A number of our team specalise in En Primeur and would love to chat to you about the process, the wines or just fine wine in general. At Jervois Road, Dylan Lydford, in Parnell, Rory Crawford at Victoria Park, Zane Winskill and Nick Pound, also at Victoria Park in our Head Office team Anthony Sorensen.
Contact details can be found here online
So, what’s the 2022 vintage like? Age worthy high-quality wines crafted from extremes.
Towards the end of the 2022 growing season, we looked on from around the world as the News Media reported fires burning across the Bordeaux region. A devastating and challenging time for the people and the region. Bordeaux is a vast region, fortunately the fires not in areas where the majority of the wines are. That aside, it was very hot, a drought year. One in which much was discussed as to how to protect the grapes from sunburn. A year of whether extremes with hailstorms during the growing season. The resulting quantity produced from the 2022 vintage is extremely low, around 30% on average down, with many properties yield below that.
Expertise and the ability to make the required decisions sees the 2022 vintage from Bordeaux, whilst small in quantity, incredibly high quality. Picking started very early, 15 – 20 days earlier on average. The year very different to 2021 which was a cool vintage, 2022 was hot and dry. The resulting wines are reported to have concentrated tannins and be age worthy. The CIVB in their annual report noting “It has been an ‘historic year for the climate” as it has been around the world. The Bordelaise experience and knowhow does appear to have crafted from these extremes very high quality wines. With the vintage being compared to 2005, 2009 and 2010. All of which were exceptionally good.
Our 2022 Vintage En Primeur Campaign is now open. Whilst the wines have only just been tasted in Bordeaux, we have opened the campaign on our website. This allows you to start thinking of the wines you would like to have on your wish list this year.
Quantities are very low and quality high. Combined with more of the markets globally now open, this will be a year in high demand. We are confident that through our excellent connections established over many years we will be able to look after our customers.
These wines are ready to enjoy now and just perfect whilst you consider what to purchase from the 2022 vintage.