Due to the success of the Burgundy 2010 vintage there has been a “sharp rise in interest from the investment market,” the firm says, but inexperienced investors should proceed with caution.

“The wines are incredible and the market is well established but the prices are significantly higher than even the best Bordeaux Clarets, and the volatility in Burgundy and small buying market makes this a far higher risk strategy than the traditional Bordeaux,” said Premier Cru in an investment note.

The higher risk is partly due to the exit process of the Burgundy market, with limited buyers at £10,000 per bottle, said the firm, and there is not the same global interest as with the Bordeaux market. The market is smaller and more volatile, while the secondary market is “limited”.

The 2010 Bordeaux vintage

However, notwithstanding the dampener last year put on the fine wine industry, it is not a “viable” time to buy 2010 Bordeaux, the firm says.

Top wine critic Robert Parker, whose opinions carry significant weight among buyers, rated the Bordeaux 2010 vintages from “extraordinary” to “outstanding”, and despite price falls in the fine wine market in the second half of last year, top-end 2010 vintages may still be out of reach for many buyers.

But there is an opportunity to pick up pre-2006 vintages at a good price, which are expected to perform well through 2012 and beyond, says Premier Cru.

A recovering market?

Last year, the Live-ex 50 and 100 indices of fine wines - mostly French vintages – declined by 18.6 per cent and 16.13 per cent respectively . In the past five years, however, the Live-ex 50 has risen by 105.9 per cent and the Live-ex 100 by 65 per cent.

Furthermore, the fine wine market is expected to start rising again this year, according to a new survey by wealthmonitor, an intelligence firm covering the high net worth market.

The survey, which included 120 merchants, auction houses and fund managers in the sector, suggests that the current market reflects good value as a result of an “overcorrection” in the second half of 2011.

“The Bordeaux wine market has a tendency to recover quickly; had you invested at the beginning of 2009, following the 2008 market fall and subsequent financial global turmoil, your cellar would have been showing a 15-20 per cent profit by the end of the same year,” said Paula Golding, managing director of Premier Cru.

“We are seeing the same scenario playing out again; now is the time for investors to take advantage of depressed prices of select Bordeaux vintages,” said Golding.