Vins primeurs arrive in shops with all the ballyhoo of the unveiling of a new car at a motor show. Except winemakers aren’t launching new cars – they’re launching prototypes. This is exciting news. Prototypes are fun. These vinous mock-ups play with traditions and find innovative ways to renew them, like trendy labels and lurid cork and cap seal combinations. They are kandy-kolored tangerine-flake streamline babies. We don’t mind that these grains de folie do not previse exactly what the producer’s wines will look like down the road. And we don’t care that vins primeurs have not even been road-tested, or that they don’t need to pass the appellation’s Contrôle Technique (the French M.O.T.). They rev out of the pits, some still fermenting in their tanks, others in disequilibrium. They may handle unpredicatably. Too much acidity and they oversteer, giving your tongue whiplash. Too little acidity and they understeer, sloshing across the palate. A few may roll over – think Mercedes A-class. However, well-balanced examples handle just right, gripping the curves around your tongue for a couple of fruity laps in slick racing tyres. But vins primeurs will never be ‘vintage’ like a 1958 Ferrari Testa Rosa is a ‘vintage’ car. They don’t have tread for the long haul. They are insubstantial maquettes – one-offs that aren’t built to last or to go into mass production. Wine heritage will not be diminished as you pile up empty bottles – think Mercedes A-class pile-up and the loss to motoring heritage. Vins primeurs are peppy prototypes meant to be fun and frivolous. They are not meant to have wooden dashboards, leather upholstery and cigar box aromas. They are not gentlemen’s clubs in a bottle. They are boy racers for day trippers. They cheerfully get you where you want to go.
Tasting tips
It's difficult to judge a vin primeur by looking at the wine through its bottle, so look at the label and cap-seal instead. Look for the words vigneron indépendant (independent winemaker). Independent winemakers make vins primeurs to attract your attention, build customer loyalty, and get some quick cash flowing from the vintage. Of course, cooperatives do the same, but not always with the same passion. You'll be paying € 4-something, not € 3-something, for a Primeur from an independent, but go the extra Euro. Look for a mention of grape variety, too. If you like Merlot, buy a Merlot Primeur. When it's in your glass the colour should be clear and sustained all the way to the rim, not watery. It should have a simple, fruity appeal on the nose. When it's in your mouth, feel for flavour, body, balance, and length. But remember, these are easy-drinking, uncomplicated wines, they shouldn't have you reaching for your thesaurus, or doing a Jilly Goolden!
First published in P-O Life. Download the issue: vroom vroom !
