Winebuzz

Part 2: Guide To Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur

Buy Bordeaux wine en primeur.

En Primeurs’ video by Millesima: benefits’ customers / part 4 from Millesima SA on Vimeo.

The second part of “Guide To Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur” covers the benefits of buying wine en primeur and how to buy.

Why buy en primeur wine?
The main reason to buy wine en primeur is because it is buying wine at the cheapest level. When you buy in advance – let’s say from 12 to 18 months before the wine is bottled – “by subscription” while the wine is still maturing in their barrels, you get it at the best price before it is released to the open market. According to Millesima, you can buy wines at 20% less on average compared to when they are bottled and released.

However if you can get your hands on first growth wines from a leading chateaux of a great vintage, chances are prices will rise quickly by the time the bottled version comes to market. It is not uncommon to see 100% increase in less than a year.  Robert Parker has already given the thumbs up for the 2009 vintage from the five First Growth chateaux which is going to make the 2009 vintage very exciting.

The other interesting point is that buying this way also means buying bigger size formats such as double magnums, jeroboams or imperials is possible.

En primeur’s vidéo 2009 by Millesima: where to buy from? from Millesima SA on Vimeo.

How to buy wine en primeur?

There are a few ways to buy  en primeur wine. There are wine merchants that sell wine en primeur through direct mail order through catalogue, telephone or via websites. What’s important is to buy from a reputable merchant and register your wishlist with them. As there is huge demand for certain wines, merchants will give priority to customers who register early.

Millesima is one such wine merchant to consider.  They are one of the 5 biggest buyers of en primeur wines with their own “place de Bordeaux” license with close relationships with all the chateaux in Bordeaux. They also offer the widest choice and range, from 250 to 300 wines for every vintage since 1988.

There is no other intermediaries between them and the chateaux and they offer an excellent storage and cellar management service(only storing at the chateaux’s cellar or their own hundred year-old cellars), guaranteeing the quality of the wine while they are fermenting in the barrels.

Check out their website to see offers of en primeur wine already released. As there is a great demand for these wines and only a limited quantity is released, sign up for their ‘Alert Fuction‘ to be alerted as soon as the wines you would like to purchase are released.

“The Guide to Buying Bordeaux Wine En Primeur Series” is sponsored by Millesima.