What Is En Primeurs? The Complete Beginner's Guide to Bordeaux Wine Futures

Every spring, something unusual happens in Bordeaux. The greatest châteaux in the world open their cellars to the world's wine buyers — and sell wines that are not yet finished.

The wines are still in barrel. The label has not been designed. The bottle does not yet exist. But the transaction happens anyway — in some cases, for thousands of bottles, at prices that will shape the wine market for years.

This is En Primeurs. And it has been the engine of Bordeaux's commercial world for over two centuries.

The Basic Mechanism

En Primeurs — translated literally as 'from the earliest' — is the system by which Bordeaux châteaux offer their wines for sale shortly after harvest, before bottling. The sequence works like this:

•       Harvest happens in autumn (September–October)

•       Over the following winter, the wine ferments and begins its ageing in barrel

•       The following spring (April–May), châteaux invite buyers to taste from barrel and make reservations

•       Release prices are announced — typically in tranches over several weeks

•       The wine continues to age in barrel for 18–24 months

•       It is bottled and released to buyers, typically two years after harvest

•       For Bordeaux 2025: harvest October 2025, tastings April 2026, release and delivery expected 2027–2028

Who Buys En Primeurs — and Why

Buyers range from private collectors to wine merchants to investment funds. The motivations for buying early rather than waiting for release fall into three categories.

Access. The most sought-after châteaux — Pétrus, Cheval Blanc, Lafite, Le Pin — produce limited quantities, sell out during En Primeurs, and are rarely available at release prices thereafter. If you want them, the barrel is when you buy.

Price. En Primeurs prices are set before the major critics have reviewed the wine and before the secondary market has formed a view. In a great vintage, this means buying at a price lower than the market will eventually set. In lesser vintages or at lesser châteaux, the opposite can be true — which is why independent advice matters.

Investment. For serious collectors, fine Bordeaux consistently appreciates in value once released, reviewed, and aged. Buying En Primeurs in a great vintage from a great estate is a documented strategy for building a valuable cellar over time.

What Happens at the Tastings?

The major annual En Primeurs event is the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux week, typically held in late April or early May. Member châteaux open their doors to accredited buyers and press, who taste barrel samples across three to four days of organised events.

The samples are wine in an unfinished state — they have not been blended into their final form, they have not been fined or filtered, and they have not been bottled. Experienced tasters learn to 'see through' the barrel stage and evaluate the underlying quality. This is not a skill available to most consumers — it is the professional judgment that makes independent brokers valuable.

We attend these tastings every year. In April 2026, we tasted the 2025 vintage at Château Lynch-Bages, Château Léoville Barton, Château Cantemerle, Château Valandraud, Château Beauregard, and Domaine de Chevalier. Our notes and recommendations from these visits are the foundation of our 2025 En Primeurs buying guide.

Is En Primeurs Right for You?

En Primeurs makes sense for you if one or more of these applies:

•       You want specific top châteaux that sell out at release and rarely appear on the secondary market at sensible prices

•       You have cellar space (or are willing to use a storage service) and a minimum five-to-ten year horizon

•       You are interested in building a collection that will appreciate in value

•       You want the satisfaction of buying wine at the earliest possible moment in its life, and following it through to maturity

It makes less sense if you want to drink the wine within the next three to five years — or if you are not comfortable with the two-year wait between purchase and delivery.

How to Buy En Primeurs Through Dis&Dis

We are independent wine brokers with first-hand knowledge of the 2025 vintage, having attended the official Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tastings in April 2026. We offer a fully managed En Primeurs service: from initial recommendation through reservation, documentation, and delivery when the wines are released.

The process starts simply. Write to us at hello@disndis.com with what you are looking for — or simply ask us to advise you. We will respond with a personal recommendation based on your preferences and budget. No commitment required.