Bordeaux 2011: Buying En Primeur
At this point I often give some general pointers to how the wines taste, but I have already given much indication of this above, and further generalisation is not really helpful; a more granular commune-by-commune approach is appropriate, beginning with Pessac-Léognan tomorrow. Instead, here are a few words for those new to primeur adapted from my forthcoming book, a Pocket Guide to Bordeaux.
En primeur is a method for purchasing wine early, in which the latest vintage is offered for sale before the wines have even been bottled. You pay for the wine often more than a year in advance of receiving it, in the case of Bordeaux usually about two years. Invitations to buy Bordeaux en primeur appear during the spring following the vintage, once the world’s wine trade and press have visited the region for a week of tasting – as we have done last week – in order to judge the quality of the wines.
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