En Primeur: A Sales Model, not a Maturity Promise

The standard

A time-decoupled pricing names its object of assessment: what is assessed is an unfinished cask sample, not the bottled wine.

Criteria

• The state assessed is an intermediate state, not a final one
• The price arises from expected demand, not from verified maturity
• The risk of deviation lies with the buyer
• Delivery follows payment by several years

Distinction

En primeur ≠ drinking window: one dates a payment, the other an expected state. A time-decoupled pricing therefore says nothing about drinking maturity.