EN PRIMEUR: WINE FUTURES

Buying En Primeur is a practice developed in Bordeaux and now increasingly practised in other fine wine regions of the World. 

Buying En Primeur, means buying fine wines whilst still in the barrel on the estate. The young wines are offered to the market, prior to bottling, at prices that are generally lower than the same wine once it is bottled … or they are offered at a lower price than the same wines available on the market in similar quality mature vintages.

Essentially, it is not unlike buying a new issue on the stock market.

Buying En Primeur provides a very good investment opportunity – as long as the wines are bought through a reputable merchant and the portfolio is professionally managed.

Wines offered by City Wine Collection are selected by our buyer, Zoran Ristanovic, and offered on the principle of open and honest evaluation. They are recommended only when they are believed to represent good value for money.

We also provide tasting notes by leading wine critics, where available, together with price guidance … but the final recommendations are always based on Zoran’s evaluation of every individual wine in every vintage.

There are many benefits to this practice; the main ones are:

Securing the stock of favourite wines at initial opening prices which are normally lower than the prices will be when the wine is mature for drinking;

Having control over the wine from the release day should secure perfect provenance for the wine. This is important for both home drinking and potential resale value of the wine;

Buying En Primeur allows the buyer to choose the size in which the wine will be bottled. This is especially important for dessert wines where half bottles are much more difficult to find as the wines mature;

Securing the allocations of favourite properties year after year for a vertical portfolio as well as getting hold of small production properties.

Wines on our list are offered in cases of 12 bottles under bond in the UK. This means that the transport from Bordeaux to the UK is included in the price.

The price does not include further delivery from Bond, Duty and VAT. The wines are normally shipped 2 years after the initial En Primeur offering.

If you have any further questions please contact: 

Zoran Ristanovic


City Wine Collection
2 Bridge Street
Richmond Upon Thames
TW9 1TQ
T: +44 (0) 20 8948 7823
E: zoranr@citywinecollection.com