Wine enthusiasts and investors alike were waiting with bated breath last week for the release of the Parker scores - possibly the single biggest influencing factor in determining a specific vintage's investment appeal.
Robert Parker, the world's leading authority on fine wine, released his ratings for the 2010 Bordeaux vintage, which was confirmed as outstanding, with 10 wines getting a perfect 100 score.
To put this in context, nearly half of all the perfect scores given during the 35 years of his ratings have come during the past two years which means that potential investors can enter a market of exceptional potential.
The scores have given a further boost to an already fast-growing wine investment market, with a very strong vintage score increasing wine's attractiveness as an investment class as a whole.
The fine vintage is down to a combination of a good growing climate, fertile soil and changing production methods such as returning to cart ploughing rather than mechanical along with other more technological advances improving the quality of grapes selected for the wine making process.
Sun, rain and soil have combined to produce some truly fantastic wines and connoisseurs and investors alike are set to reap the fruits of their labour.
The effect the scores had on the market was instant and within hours of their release the Vin-X team witnessed a rush of activity with investors keen to invest in perfect scoring wines, such as the Pontet Canet. This was a wine that's value had already increased by more than 15 per cent in the few months leading up to the announcement and is now set to rise substantially more after confirmation of its perfect rating.
So what does this mean for those considering a move into fine wine investment? It means that potential investors are able to enter the market certain that they are purchasing a high-quality, highly sought after commodity which, due to limited supply, should see strong value increases in future.
If wine investment was a 100 metre race investors entering the market now would be doing so 10 metres ahead of the crowd.
Those looking to back a high-scoring wine may want to do so quickly in order to take advantage of future value increases. The fine wine investment market is anticipating double digit growth again this year and these exceptional scores have already seen things accelerate significantly in just a few days.
Whilst this is undoubtedly a time of great opportunity I would advise all investors to proceed with caution and to thoroughly research the options available to them. Look for the Wine Investment Association (WIA) kite mark as an immediate assurance that the firm displaying it has been independently audited and adheres to stringent industry standards.
For investors this is simply too good a vintage to not include in your portfolio and with the market predicted to grow rapidly again during 2013 this is set to be a particularly promising time for wine as an investment class.
For more information please visit www.vin-x.co.uk.