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En Primeur - the path to securing great wines?

In part one of this series I outlined some of the problems with purchasing wine en primeur, and last week I began my exploration of some of the negative aspects of buying wine in this fashion in more detail. This week I continue by examining another of the pitfalls of en primeur - the timing of the offers.

As explained in part one, the en primeur campaigns for Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and Bordeaux occur at about the same time each year. Offers for the first two tend to arrive on the doormat (or these days the inbox) early in the year, approximately eighteen months from the harvest, whereas Bordeaux is offered later in the year, typically only a year or so since harvest. As a consequence the wines are still very young at the time they are offered for sale, particularly so in the case of Bordeaux. This is a major spanner in the works of the en primeur machine.

This wine tastes great...let's buy some more!

Most of us will remember a time when we have said something like this to ourselves. Having tasted a wine, we can assess its quality and, if desirable, purchase more. Tasting a wine for ourselves is the only guaranteed way to discover, without any uncertainty, whether or not we actually enjoy it. It seems obvious, therefore, that when contemplating a large purchase en primeur we should endeavour to taste the wines before handing over the cash. Especially as many of the wines concerned are quite expensive, and are generally sold in unbroken cases of twelve bottles (although a few merchants do offer six-packs). Because of the timings of the offers, however, particularly so in the case of Bordeaux, the wines are not generally available for tasting at the time they are offered for sale. As a consequence we, the consumers, face making a purchasing decision, possibly concerning large quantities of wine and money, without being able to first make any assessment of quality for ourselves.

In truth this isn't strictly true, as there are in fact a number of opportunities for the seriousbuyer to make his or her own assessment of the wines before making a purchase. For Bordeaux, perhaps the most enjoyable way to do this is at the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tastings. Held in Bordeaux each Spring, barely six months from harvest, the wines are made available to the international wine press for their assessment. Aside from the difficulties of assessing infantile claret and the hurdles faced by a private buyer trying to gain entry to what is essentially a trade fair, however, to travel to Bordeaux each year is impractical for most wine drinkers, as we all have limited time and funds.

There are, however, alternatives. The international wine and spirits exhibition Vinexpo might be one, as this fair is open to the public, and is usually host to a Union des Grands Crus tasting. Like the Spring tastings in Bordeaux, however, attendance at Vinexpo may involve considerable travel - recent venues include New York, Tokyo and, of course, Bordeaux again! Closer to home, in the UK, the Union des Grands Crus hold an annual tasting in Autumn, in London. This would be ideal, were it not for the fact that this tasting focuses on two-year-old wines; the most recent, in November 2002, focused on the 2000 vintage. This is a year later than the 2000 en primeur offers, which were circulated in late 2001, and is of no use to those who wish to make an informed decision regarding which wines to purchase at that time.

It seems as if the odds are stacked against those of us who would like to taste Bordeaux before making an en primeur purchase. What about the Rhône Valley and Burgundy? Here there are, at least, more feasible opportunities for the discerning buyer - there are tastings of the new vintage which are contemporaneous with the en primeur offers. One merchant that offers such tastings is Bibendum - I attended the the Rhône 2001 tasting, which kicks off Bibendum's en primeur offer, within a week or so of writing this article. These tastings are an excellent opportunity to sample the new vintage. Unfortunately, travel to London for an evening tasting is not possible for many who have work and other commitments which take priority. Although Bibendum are to be commended for their cask tastings, it is a long way from a perfect solution.

Trust the Critics?

You can't trust, I'm afraid to say, the merchants. Whichever way you look at it, they're in the business of selling wine, and they will always focus on the positive aspects of the vintage rather than the negative. Even The Wine Society, a co-operative society (which should therefore be run for the benefits of its members and not as a profit-making organisation) has come under criticism in the past few years for painting a rather rosy picture of whichever vintage is currently on offer. So we are left with the critics.

The problem with wine critics is that they often disagree with one another. How inconvenient! It is, of course, the nature of the beast. The appreciation of wine is not, as I have discussed before on The Winedoctor, as cut and dried as some might have us believe. In order to 'use' a critic it is first necessary to assess whether or not you have similar palates. Do you favour the wines rated by Robert Parker, James Suckling or Clive Coates? Or someone else? Once you have established with whom you have 'palate calibration' it's possible to use their notes as a guide.

They are only a guide though. At the time of the Spring Bordeaux tasting, the wines have not completed their time in barrel and, more crucially, have not been blended.As a consequence, the critics are tasting a single component of an unfinished wine, which at best is merely representative of the final blend. The vigneron, of course, wants his wines to show well at the tastings, and he has many different barrels to choose from. It seems a logical step to suppose that the wines chosen for the tastings are those which the vigneron feels will appeal to the palates of the most influential critics. This has led to speculation regarding the existence of 'Parker barrels' - wines chosen specifically with Robert Parker in mind, such is his influence. Whereas some report vignerons confirming that this is true, others vehemently deny the possibility. Whatever the truth is, it's fair to say that the Bordeaux Spring tasting only gives a general impression of what the wines hold in store for the consumer.

So the en primeur system is far from ideal. The wines are offered for sale and only the lucky few are fortunate enough to taste the wines before making a purchasing decision. Merchants unsurprisingly are not the most objective critics of the wines they list. Nevertheless, the consumer can make a decision based on the opinions of the critics, provided he or she has established which famous palate is the most trustworthy. That is providing the notes are published before the wines are offered for sale. Those who follow the recommendations of Robert Parker were recently disappointed to discover that his Rhône 2001 tasting notes would not be published until late February this year, weeks after some merchants have closed their offers.

So should I buy en primeur?

This is the same question with which I finished last week. Unfortunately, unlike last week, I have no quick and easy suggestions. My own personal practice is to purchase the wines of favoured producers based on general vintage reports, together with the track record of the property, which I have confirmed by tasting previous vintages myself. By purchasing in this manner I avoid relying on the tasting notes of unfinished wines from any of the internationally established critics. I accept, however, that this method may not be acceptable to everyone. Those who wish to follow recommendations should align themselves with one of the critics above, or alternatively avail themselves of as many opinions as possible to try and form a balanced viewpoint - a sort of wine recommendation by committee.

Looking at the larger picture, a system whereby wines may be purchased en primeur following a tasting would be of benefit to the consumer. Firstly the date for Bordeaux wines should be delayed by six months or so, meaning all wines would be on offer during Spring, approximately eighteen months from harvest. This would mean we could assess the three regions together, but as an added benefit the Bordeaux wines would be much more comparable to the finished item. Secondly, we need an opportunity to taste and form a definitive assessment of the wines before purchase. Some sort of en primeur fair, hosted by a combination of retailers and producers from the three main regions, would go a long way towards achieving this. The location would be central, probably London, but such a large event would by necessity be arranged long in advance and as a consequence interested buyers would have plenty of notice in order to make arrangements for time off work and the necessary travel. Lastly, we would all need to save hard through the year - to be ready for the Spring spend - which would otherwise be very taxing on the bank balance! But at least we would know that we really wanted what we were buying - and I think it would be worth it. (6/2/03)