The En Primeur Illusion: Why Smart Investors Are Walking Away
Is En Primeur Still Worth It?
Or has the game quietly moved on?
For many years, En Primeur was a clever way for collectors and investors to get ahead of the curve. You could secure sought after wines before bottling, often at prices that left room for healthy returns. It felt like you were getting early access to something special, a chance to be in on the ground floor.
But that logic is starting to look a little dated.
Today, the wines being released en primeur are often priced so aggressively that there's little upside left. The margin for growth, once the very point of buying early, has all but disappeared. What used to be an investment strategy now feels more like wishful thinking.
At the same time, access is becoming more restricted. Many top châteaux now hold back significant amounts of stock, releasing them later, often at much higher prices. That move not only limits the initial allocations available to buyers, but also helps drive up secondary market prices. It’s a smart business move for the producers, but for investors, it means thinner pickings and less control.
And let’s be honest, buying en primeur has always involved a certain amount of guesswork. You're not buying a finished wine. You're buying based on barrel samples, early critic reviews, and potential. Sometimes it pays off. Other times, the wine doesn’t quite live up to the early hype. That’s a risk some investors no longer feel comfortable taking.
The broader market conditions haven’t helped either. Recent vintages have shown that wines released en primeur don’t always hold their value. Some have even dropped in price once they’ve hit the market. That volatility has made people more cautious, especially those building long term portfolios.
Then there's the structure of the market itself. The Bordeaux system can be notoriously difficult to navigate. Allocations, pricing, and distribution are often opaque, with little consistency from one campaign to the next. For newer investors, and even experienced ones, it can feel like you're playing a game with the rules stacked against you.
Meanwhile, other parts of the fine wine world are opening up. Wine exchanges, specialist funds, and platforms for trading mature bottles are becoming more popular, and more transparent. These offer buyers more visibility, greater liquidity, and crucially more control over their investments.
There’s also been a shift in taste. Bordeaux is still a heavyweight, but collectors are increasingly drawn to regions like Burgundy, Champagne, Tuscany and Piedmont. These wines not only offer variety, but in many cases, stronger returns and more predictable performance.
So what would need to change for En Primeur to become relevant again?
For starters, pricing needs to be more realistic. If châteaux want to attract long-term buyers, they need to leave something on the table. Access also needs to be opened up. The system shouldn’t only work for a handful of insiders. And most importantly, there needs to be greater transparency in how prices are set and how allocations are handled. Without that, trust will continue to erode.
In the meantime, investors are increasingly turning their attention elsewhere.
Mature wines, already in bottle, already reviewed, and often already drinking beautifully, offer a far clearer path to building a valuable, resilient collection. They allow investors to buy with knowledge rather than speculation, and to focus on quality over hype.
If you’re thinking about the next step in your wine investment journey, it might be worth looking beyond En Primeur. The best opportunities may no longer be the ones still in barrel, but those already resting quietly in bottle.
Want to see what that looks like in practice?
Take a look at our current list of mature releases from exceptional producers and proven vintages. No guesswork, no delays, just great wine, ready when you are.