En Primeur, French term used in the Bordeaux region for the system by which estates sell wine two years before bottling it, to middlemen called négociants, who then sell the wine to wholesalers and importers, who in turn distribute it to shops, restaurants and so on.

Pricing: ‘Regarding en primeur Bordeaux does not set much store by intrinsic quality, but mirrors in its pricing “la conjuncture”, the economic environment, the world’s stock exchanges. So cyclically, one experiences the illogicality of paying through the nose for a modest vintage – 97 – whilst a partially excellent one – 2002, and not everyone will agree here – is given away. Bordeaux has two particularities which work against it; the first is the burden of financing, and the second is the transparency of margin; we are, after all, in business to make money,’ wrote Roy Richards in Richards Walford, Dies Irae, Italy 2003 vintage report (June 2003).

Also called: Anteprima (Italy).