1275 is not a big buyer of Bordeaux en primeur. To date, 7 of the past 16 en primeur campaigns – even from the top Bordeaux estates – have generated negative rather than positive returns (fig.1) (large formats notwithstanding). After two intense days of tasting the latest vintage – 2024 – in Bordeaux, here are our thoughts ahead of the upcoming en primeur campaign, as objectively and factually as we can offer them:
The Vintage
2024 was the most challenging vintage in Bordeaux since 2013. Make no mistake, this statement is by no means a derogatory “bashing” of the region. On the contrary, only superhuman vignerons, equipped with the very pinnacle of winemaking technology and knowhow could have created some of the best examples of the vintage from what Mother Nature delivered. After a slew of easier vintages – 2015, 2016, 2019, even 2022 – the relative quality of 2024 is nothing short of miraculous.
Bordeaux winemakers dealt with a historically wet start to the growing season, with rain continuing well into Spring. Then came early and strong mildew pressure, causing irregular flowering, and heterogeneity at all further stages. Harvest was late and long, requiring several passages in the vineyard as well as extreme sorting of berries once picked. In the cellar, many properties chaptalised (added sugar), to increase alcohol and/or slow down fermentation. Extraction and the use of new oak was also tempered to match the lighter fruit profile of the vintage.
The Context
The genuine benefits for purchasing Bordeaux en primeur (as opposed to once in bottle) have been debatable for more than a decade. The quality of 2024 relative to the growing season, and any reason – compelling or not – to buy right now are (or should be) mutually exclusive. What’s more, the wine trade finds itself in a double-danger zone – releasing a difficult vintage into an even more challenging, and volatile economic context. The only recent reference point for such an occurrence is the 2013 vintage. At the time of its release in 2014, prices were not low enough to incite demand, and the market instead grazed gently on the fallout of 2009s and 2010s, whose prices had crashed following the first flash appearance of China into Bordeaux.
Today, the market has 10 back-vintages’ worth of availability for sale. 2016s – the last truly iconic vintage (and perhaps the new 1982) – are available 10-15% above their original release prices of 8 years ago. More challenging vintages – 2017 & 2021 – are up for grabs at 10% & 25% below their release prices respectively. Given this state of things, there is no world in which Bordeaux en primeur 2024 can generate success without discounts of 10-20% on the cheapest physical back vintage available in the market (2014, 2017, or 2021, depending on the estate).
Our Conclusion
Even with 2024s at what we deem to be “appropriate” prices, our personal conviction is that the added value of purchasing a Bordeaux 2016 or 2019 instead goes far beyond the additional cost, namely in years of maturation potential. During tastings last week, our stop at Château Latour (who left the en primeur system in 2012 and were showing their latest releases – 2016, 2019, and 2020 – instead of 2024) was a welcome reminder of our philosophy for long-term ageing of great, classic vintages, and a testament to its relevance in today’s context.
The wine market needs an injection of activity (and cash), so Bordeaux 2024s will likely be pushed hard. Our advice – should you find yourself succumbing to the discounted offers – is to check your buying objectives. If you have a specific reason for purchasing 2024 immediately (e.g. to celebrate the birth of a child or relative), we are happy to advise on those wines we believe are the best successes of the vintage. Otherwise, our focus will remain on the older Bordeaux vintages that merit our attention now.