Bordeaux En-Primeur 2024 : How does it work?

Sales en primeur originated in the 18th century, in Bordeaux, when wine merchants went to the vineyards before the harvest to buy the grapes on the vine. In those days, they were responsible for barrel ageing and bottling.

Today, this has changed somewhat. The primeur season begins with the famous "Tasting Week", which usually takes place in April. During this short period, the entire wine world (negociants, brokers, press, distribution professionals, etc.) gather at Bordeaux to taste the new vintage, still maturing, in order to estimate its potential. This is a crucial stage, as it is at this precise moment that the perception and reputation of the vintage will be decided .

This is followed by the en primeur sale of these Bordeaux Grands Crus. In the spring, wines are offered for sale that have just undergone vinification and are just beginning to mature in barrel. It's a sale before the official market launch, which will take place 2 years later, at the end of the aging process. This system, which used to be reserved for professionals, opened up to private customers in the 1980s.

During these primeur sales, wine merchants play a key role in distributing and promoting the wines of Domaines to international markets. This marketing model, unique in the world, enables Châteaux owners to distribute their wines worldwide.

The opinions of renowned experts such as James Suckling, Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate (Robert Parker), Neal Martin, La Revue du Vin de France, Le Figaro and Lisa Perrotti-Brown provide invaluable references every year to help you make your choices and fully appreciate the potential of each wine.

Every year, this historic tradition attracts enthusiasts and collectors from all over the world, eager to acquire a preview of the new vintage.

For the 2024 vintage, wines will be offered for sale from April/May 2025, with delivery scheduled for the first half of 2027. This approach guarantees the authenticity of the wines while offering privileged access to the finest vintages.

■ Acquire Rares wines at preferential prices : as the wines are still maturing, they are released at more attractive prices than when they are officially released as deliverables. What's more, for some major labels, supply far exceeds demand. Buying en primeur means securing these precious nectars.
■ A choice of bottle sizes packaged in the original Château wooden crate : After barrel ageing, the wines are bottled in Châteaux. As sales take place in advance, it is possible to choose the desired format in advance (Bottle, Magnum, Impériale, Jeroboam, etc.).
■ Guarantee the authenticity of wines by sourcing directly from Châteaux : Wines are bottled at the estate and then sent to customers. This means perfect traceability and the assurance that the wines have not been improperly stored by passing through several intermediaries.
■ Enhance your estate with Bordeaux wines, which improve and increase in value over time : Bordeaux wines are renowned for their long ageing potential, especially the Premiers Grands Crus. Buying en primeur wines at more attractive prices is a way of ensuring value by keeping them for a few years.

Starting in March, the Châteaux of all the prestigious appellations open their doors to wine professionals, journalists and critics for preview tastings. This allows professionals to get a first idea of the quality of the vintage. The reports and scores given by the various critics are eagerly awaited, and have a major influence on the perception of the vintage and its demand on the market.

Following the tastings, each Château individually determines the price and date on which its en primeur wines go on sale. Traditionally, this takes place between May and the end of June, but there's no set timetable, with properties announcing their releases on an ongoing basis. Releasing early can set the tone for the campaign, but it may also be preferable to wait and see how the wines are received by buyers. With this system, there are releases almost every day, which is why it's a good idea to sign up for alerts so you can be notified when your favorite wines go on sale.

To set their prices, Châteaux rely on several things. They look at previous years' prices, the quality of the vintage, feedback from the press and critics, and increasingly, the current state of the market. To do this, they also enlist the help of specialized wine brokers. These brokers play an important role in ensuring the smooth running of transactions between Châteaux and wine merchants. En primeur prices are highly regulated, since the Châteaux set their own selling prices, as well as those of the merchants and wine professionals.

Once the prices have been set, the wines are made available to professional and private buyers via the négociants. It's at this point that we send you information about the sale of your favorite wines. For some wines, you'll have to act fast, because depending on the label, stocks can run out in just a few hours. Sign up for our alerts!

Thereafter, the wines continue their barrel ageing for 18 to 24 months in the winery before bottling. This may be a little longer for Sauternes wines or Premier Grand Cru Classé wines. For the 2024 vintage, deliveries will have to wait until the first quarter of 2027.

PREMIUM GRANDS CRUS takes part in the primeur tastings directly in Châteaux, with the owners, during the tasting week which this year will take place from April 14 to 17, 2025 for the tasting of the 2024 vintage.

In the first half of 2027, our team will alert you to organize delivery of your 2024 primeurs according to your preferences. They will be shipped in their original wooden crate, guaranteeing their authenticity and perfect preservation.

As a subsidiary of a Bordeaux wine merchant and direct allocatee of many Châteaux we guarantee you:

• Direct access to the finest wines from Bordeaux
• Tailor-made advice for each wine, following our tastings
• Guaranteed delivery within 2 years. All our wines have been previously purchased by Premium Grands Crus

You can place your orders as you go along, so you don't miss a thing. Before delivery, we will group all your orders together so that you can benefit from free delivery (€300 incl. VAT in France), in accordance with our general terms of delivery.

Would you like to postpone delivery? We can store your wines on request thanks to our "Storage" delivery option .

■ 23/04/25 : Château Pontet-Canet 2024, Château de Fieuzal 2024
■ 28/04/25 : Château Chasse-Spleen 2024, Château La Tour Blanche 2024, Château Doisy-Daëne 2024
■ 29/04/25 : Château Duhart-Milon 2024, Carruades de Lafite 2024, Château Lafite-Rothschild 2024
■ 30/04/25 : Château Angelus 2024, Carillon d'Angélus 2021, Château Suduiraut 2024, Château Suduiraut Vieilles Vignes 2024
■ 06/05/25 : Le Petit Cheval 2024, Château Cheval Blanc 2024, Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2024, Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2024 - Blanc
■ 07/05/25 : La Dame de Montrose 2024, Château Montrose 2024, Château La Gaffelière 2024, Château Haut-Bailly 2024
■ 12/05/25 : Château Poujeaux 2024, Clos Fourtet 2024
■ 13/05/25 : Aile d'Argent 2024, Château Coutet 2024, Château Mouton Rothschild 2024, Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild 2024, Château Clerc Milon 2024, Château d'Armailhac 2024, Château Beychevelle 2024
■ 14/05/25 : Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion 2024, Les Griffons de Pichon Baron 2024, Château Pichon Baron 2024, Domaine de Chevalier 2024, Domaine de Chevalier 2024 - Blanc
■ 15/05/25 : G d'Estournel 2024, Pagodes de Cos 2024, Pagodes de Cos 2024 - Blanc, Château Cos d'Estournel 2024, Château Cos d'Estournel 2024 - Blanc, Château Carbonnieux 2024, Château Carbonnieux 2024 - Blanc
■ 20/05/25 : Le Dragon de Quintus 2024, Château Quintus 2024, Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2024, La Clarté de Haut-Brion 2024, La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion 2024, Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2024, Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2024 - Blanc, Château Haut-Brion 2024, Château Haut-Brion 2024 - Blanc

■ The 2024 vintage analysed by L'Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin de l'Université de Bordeaux with contributions from Pr Laurence Geny, Elodie Guittard, Dr Valérie Lavigne and Pr Axel Marchal.

2024, a winemaker's vintage

As the seasons go by, the vintages write their own history, reminding us at every turn that making a great wine is a perilous path that requires patience, precision and a great deal of commitment. In 2024, weather conditions will have given the vines no respite, whether during budburst, flowering or harvest. With its share of challenges both in the vineyard and in the cellar, it will nevertheless have brought to light all the complexity and depth of the winegrower's craft.
This extraordinary vintage began with an unusually mild winter, accompanied by much higher rainfall than in previous years. Almost 1000mm of rain fell between the end of October 2023 and the end of March 2024, making this the wettest winter since 2000. The water-logged soils limited water stress, leading to local root asphyxia, which was relatively harmful to the vines. It was also during the winter that the first signs of mildew began to appear, occurring earlier than in previous vintages

The spring that followed was also rather mild, favoring an even budburst, the date of which coincided with the average for the last ten years. Nature didn't give the vines much respite, however, as rainfall resumed in late spring, slowing down the vegetative cycle and causing a delay in growth. With ambient humidity almost constant, mildew pressure remained very high, marking the start of a long battle! Flowering in mid-May, later than usual due to climatic conditions, proved to be very heterogeneous, leading to coulure and millerandage. However, this drop in yield was beneficial in one respect: by naturally thinning out the bunches, coulure and millerandage facilitated the aeration of the bunches, somewhat limiting the development of mildew.
Then came the season that really saved the vintage. The summer brought milder, much drier weather. Leaf-thinning began earlier, however, to contain the still fairly heavy mildew pressure. The drought, which lasted for six weeks, created a slight water stress in the soils, which was beneficial for the vines at this time of year. The thermal amplitudes between day and night favored good anthocyanin synthesis, while the cool mornings ensured good berry ripening. Thanks to somewhat reduced yields, the berries reached a good level of ripeness at the end of the summer.

At harvest time, another rainy spell disrupted the ripening of the berries. The berries, which had previously been well concentrated by the sun, begin to absorb water. Some of them will burst as a result of the rapid influx of water, once again creating pressure for mildew and botrytis. For those that remain intact, it will take several days to reach full ripeness. This delayed the harvest, which took place later in the season.
In the winery, a major sorting operation was carried out to ensure that only healthy grapes were brought in, thus guaranteeing the quality of the harvest, but once again reducing yields. The musts were then gently vinified, with low-temperature fermentation to pRéserver develop the fruit, and moderate pumping-over to limit Extraction. As for ageing, the majority of Châteaux have decided not to over-mark the wines, preferring to increase the ratio of one-wine barrels to new barrels.
More in tune with the times, this year's wines are marked by lower alcohol levels (around 12.5% vol.), aromas dominated by crisp fruit, freshness, more or less pronounced tannins depending on the appellation, and good drinkability when young.
Generally speaking, the reds are greedy and fresh. As for the Rive droite, the Pomerol are generous and opulent, while the Saint-Emilion are finer and more delicate, with fine tannins. As for the Rive gauche, the differences are more marked: the Saint-Julien are supple, with crisp fruit, while the Margaux and Pauillac have riper fruit and impressive body. The white Secs are lively, vibrant and crystalline, with citrus-dominated aromas. As for the sweet wines, they are undoubtedly the greatest success of the 2024 vintage. The weather allowed noble rot to set in early, developing intense, gourmet aromas. The palate reveals a perfect balance between smoothness and liveliness, and promises magnificent ageing potential.

The 2024 vintage, complicated in its elaboration, will have revealed the heterogeneity that makes up the great terroirs of Bordeaux. Thanks to the passion of the winemakers, their unfailing commitment and the latest techniques, it produced wines of incomparable quality to those of recent rainy vintages. Accessible in their youth, the wines will also make us dream in a few years' time.

Marie - Oenologist Premium Grands Crus