En Primeur Sales
March 11th, 2008 Posted in BordeauxThe way wine sales of high-end Bordeaux wines works can be a bit strange sometimes. It works a bit like a stock market, complete with speculating investors and plenty of penny stocks that never amount to anything as far as value. For a prestigious Bordeaux Chateau, cash flow can be a difficult issue, as much of the capital is tied up in the product. To reduce this exposure to risk, the winery will often engage in en primeur sales. To do this, they hold the bottled wine until after the critics have rated it, usually about 2 years after the harvest. They will then test the market with a what is called a tranche. The initial tranche price will be somewhat lower than those that follow, which gives the opportunity for a savvy investor to make a good investment. A lot of times there is so much demand for these wines that the opportunity to buy these wines is determined by a lottery system. You’d probably better think twice about getting involved in this market by yourself though. Just like the stock market, there are professionals that make a living brokering these wine deals and investments and it’s definitely recommended to have their help.
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