Bordeaux en primeur is 'madness': Petrus winemaker
February 4, 2008
By Oliver Styles
Former Chateau Petrus winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet has become the latest high-profile wine professional to attack en primeur – calling it 'madness' and 'a disaster for wine'.
Writing in the March issue of Decanter magazine the now-retired Berrouet says the en primeur barrel tastings, held the year after the harvest in Bordeaux, are a bad influence on the wines of the region.
The wines have to be 'as seductive as possible far earlier, to the detriment of the Bordeaux style', he says.
Berrouet, who worked at Petrus from 1964 to 2007, reckons en primeur is a 'media creation' and that wines should be judged over time and not in what he calls 'a moment of madness'.
He also attacks the financial and speculative nature of en primeur as 'a disaster for wine.
'As soon as it becomes a financial product, it is no longer a wine. We have taken wine hostage and we need to set it free.'
Berrouet is not alone. Writing in the July issue of Decanter last year, veteran journalist Stephen Brook lambasted en primeur as a system 'designed to transfer large amounts of cash from your pocket into the pockets of wealthy Bordeaux proprietors and merchants at the earliest possible moment.'
Jancis Robinson was equally outspoken. 'Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to play this game?' she asked in an interview in June 2007. 'I hope 2006 will not be a success. I hope it will really show the Bordelais the shortcomings of the system.'
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I've bought en primeur modestly since 2000. Some of my investment winners are (in-bond prices):
Lynch Bages - bought for £400 / now wholesale at £1,050; Lafite 2002 - £680 / £2,800; La Mission 2005 - £1,400 / £4,500. My Leovilles tell almost as good a story.
True, some of my wines have not gone up much, but the winners are so spectacular that they pay for the rest. If (it is by no means certain) I cash all the winners in, the profit would pay for the rest. That's free wine!
Vive en primeur!!
Geoff Lear, Grateful amateur
It is a shame that the market has become accustomed to making its initial assessment of the quality of a vintage before the wine making process is complete. Included amongst the many visitors who descend on Bordeaux for the en-primeur tastings are not only professionals but also enthusiastic consumers, few of whom are likely to have the oenological skills or expertise to recognise potential and quality factors when the wine is at such a “work in progress” stage of its life. However, none of the chateaux are obliged to follow the en-primeur route. It is not mandatory, and in any vintage should any chateau wish to retain its wine for release onto the market later then it would be free to do so. In fact many do indeed hold back a proportion of their production selling it a few years later at considerably higher prices. Similarly wine merchants are free to hold their en-primeur purchases to sell at a later date should they be adequately capitalised to do so. I suspect the decision for a chateau or merchant in choosing when to sell is a combination of factors including;
1. Presenting the wine on the market at the optimum point of consumer enthusiasm, there's always talk and mystique when a vintage is first tasted.
2. The obvious commercial advantages of having cash now rather than later.
It is also interesting to remember that until a few years ago one incentive to the consumer of purchasing en-primeur would be the “discounted” price. However, in recent years one can hardly consider the release pricing to reflect any discount at all. In 2005 for example, the release price of all the first growths was higher than the current price of the same wines from delicious vintages like 1995 that's matured for eleven years. Hardly a discount, but on the other hand the 2005 vintage was sold out, so in a free market, the price must have been right! Stephen Williams, the Antique Wine Company, London
Congratulations, Mr Berrouet. It is just sad that he has to wait until he is retired to give an honest opinion on a system that forgot that wine is made to be drunk and enjoyed, and not a commodity to speculate on.
Forcing the wines to be good at a time when they should still be in malolactic fermentation is a nonsense, and a major source of potential fraud. The result for the "speculators": the wines they purchase, hoping to lay their hands on coveted wines able to rival the 28, 29, 47 or 61 will actually be dead in a decade, just to satisfy the appetite for better financial returns, and ego congratulation. Bordeaux has lost its soul, and an older wise man is raising the point... the younger ones are not available, still in meeting with their financial advisor. Jean Vincent RIDON, producer in France and in South Africa
My first en-primeur wine was 6 cases of 1982 Cheval Blanc for 300 pounds a case, half of which I still have. I cannot now afford to drink it and can`t bring myself to sell it. I have bought wine en-primeur ever since but stopped buying Bordeaux in 2005, at the ridiculous prices. I do continue to buy Burgundy and Rhone wines. I have never sold a case of wine but realise that the Cheval Blanc that is left will probably fund my wine drinking for the rest of my life. Whilst that is a comforting thought in one way I have no wish to be a speculator and increase this awful `merry go round`. Perhaps this year it will come crashing down with the 2007 vintage and we can all breath a sigh of relief. Neil Maloney, Hong Kong
En primeur is an important element of 'theatre' that enriches the wine scene (no pun intended). It is truly distinctive and, in a form appropriate to today's conditions, it deserves to survive. But producers are exploiting, and some times manipulating, the system for their own ends, putting in danger a much cherished institution.
Reforms are needed, including a sample integrity protocol (variants have been introduced by individuals in the past but scorned by the majority), full transparency over volumes produced and offered, and adherence to a robust timetable appropriate to the evolution of the wines.
It has been said before that current practices fall far below the standard required in other 'futures' markets. For its own good Bordeaux needs to accept that in the 21st century it has to raise its game if it wishes to continue to enjoy success and prestige. Hugo Rose MW
I am a consumer of fine wine and not an investor or speculator. I have purchased en primeur since 1985 and overall have paid less than I would if I waited for the retail price. However I would prefer to see the playing field level for all wine consumers, I don't really care at all about the investors. Wine is meant to be sipped and savored, not traded. There are times when I do not want a full case or can not afford a full case, which one usually has to purchase en primeur. Not everyone can. I heartily agree with those who wish to see en primeur abolished, however I doubt that will ever occur as the big boys have too much to gain in maintaining this system. As a consumer I can refuse to buy the overpriced vintages either en primeur or retail and save money for the affordable vintages whether they be en primeur or sitting on my retailers shelves. I am fortunate that I have two or three retailers that have a decent stock of older wines at usually reasonable prices. I avoided the 2005's as I feel that some will drop in price upon release and then perhaps I will purchase some. We are in some control, however, remember that. Supply and demand; we control the demand side of the equation. Ivan Filanti, Canada
As a wine drinker who rarely strays from Italy and the Southern Rhone, I typically follow this story with a comical curiosity. I happen to agree with Robinson's poignant assessment of this system, which is obviously flawed. However, as the choice to largely avoid Bordeaux is a conscious one, I must mention how well I am served by the simplicity of Piedmont. I'll let others debate the pros and cons of en Primeur, as I savor the final sips of a '99 Giacosa Santo Stefano! Dan McDaid, Philadelphia
Conversations about the en primeur system seem to generate a picture of a very narrow-minded wine trade. Here we are discussing a theoretical failure, and one that does not really exist. Wine, at its core, is an agricultural commodity - one loaded with aesthetic significance and meant to be enjoyed. If the Bordelaise take pleasure in the commoditization of their wines, and the wine buying public competing for them takes pleasure in the chase that results, who is to say that this is a lesser form of enjoyment than drinking the wine? Ultimately, the real failure comes in the form of a disservice to the general wine consumer that results from the trade's inability to move beyond the wines of Bordeaux being sold en primeur, great as they may be, and to other chateaux/wines that can bring the consumer great joy and great value. We get so caught up in the hype, that it becomes the focus of many shops, web sites, critics and restaurants despite the disproportionate amount of wine drinkers interested in the wines. Our customers, as a result, come to understand Bordeaux to be a benchmark in the world of wine. And that it certainly is, but a benchmark for what - the great wines of the past, or an elite economic exercise? Either or any option is fine, but no longer do they stand as a singular point of excellence. The wine world presents us with dizzyingly exciting, wonderful, accessible joys at any price point - from the least expensive to the most. Though I am unlikely to pay $8,000 or more for a case of wine en primeur, I won't stand in the way of those who will, nor will I spend my time convincing my customers that this is where it's at or that the natural evolution of their appreciation will lead them to it. Jason Dedalus, Burlington, Vermont
It is amazing what additions can be made to wines to make them taste "ready" at their first birthday, or even before. There are many tools to "Parkerize" a wine and these wines may last a long time, but probably won't "Age" in the traditional meaning. They may well simply sit at this point for many years, maybe getting a little softer/rounder, but improve? Will the 2005 Crus Classes in general actually be better in 15 or 20 years, or stay pretty much the same as they are now? I think of these as Wines on Steroids, or Wines with MSG (monosodium glutamate).
These are not the kind of wines that established the reputation of Bordeaux, and making wine in this fashion is risky - it can be replicated almost anywhere in the world. And sooner or later the general public will discover the tricks of the trade and refuse to pay more than the commodity prices that such wines will merit. Larry Paterson
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I've bought en primeur modestly since 2000. Some of my investment winners are (in-bond prices):
