Bordeaux’s En Primeur tastings draw more visitors

Attendance at Bordeaux’s annual En Primeur tastings rose 10% this year, with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux saying it welcomed 5,000 trade visitors as châteaux and négociants prepared to set prices for the 2025 vintage under what its chairman described as a climate of caution.

François-Xavier Maroteaux, who heads the UGCB, said the increase reflected stronger interest from distributors and importers who came to Bordeaux to judge the wines for themselves. Overseas visitors made up a larger share of the crowd than last year, rising from 27% to 31%, while the number of nationalities represented climbed from 69 to 76.

The English remained the largest foreign group, followed by Americans, Belgians, Swiss and Germans. Chinese buyers also returned in greater numbers; when combined with visitors from Hong Kong, they matched the Belgian contingent, Maroteaux said.

The tastings, held at Hangar 14 on the Bordeaux waterfront and at participating estates across the region, come as producers try to turn early enthusiasm for the 2025 vintage into actual sales. Maroteaux said the year is shaping up as one of high quality but unusually low volume, with even 2003 producing more wine.

He said that combination could support competitive pricing, but added that “caution will generally be the norm” among many properties. The UGCB plans to use 2024 pricing as a reference point, though Maroteaux said that does not mean every estate will hold prices steady. Some will raise them, he said, while others may not.

The final pricing decisions are being watched closely by merchants and collectors after several difficult campaigns in Bordeaux, where demand has been uneven and buyers have become more selective. Maroteaux said he expected some wines to offer strong value both in futures form and as bottled wines ready for delivery.