What makes a wine collectable? The vintage. Backing the right vintage takes skill, daring and an intimate knowledge of fine wines; vintages are constantly being reassessed, meaning that a popular vintage may ultimately disappoint whereas a year that was agreed to be average may turn into a star.

With Bordeaux reds vintages are more crucial that most regions. The unpredictable rain patterns, the changeable sunshine and overall variable climate mean that vast differences can occur from one year to the next. This is a large part of what makes Bordeaux so fascinating to wine connoisseurs, and what keeps investors interested in them. Every time a good vintage is drunk, the other bottles become a more valuable commodity as there are fewer of them in existence.

The 1982 vintage for example produced some of the best Bordeaux wines to date, and are prized commodities. The 2000 and 2005 vintages have more recently garnered acclaim from critics.

Choosing the correct vintage, holding it with patience till the correct time (we recommend an average of ten years) and arranging the sale to the correct buyer for the right price are the talents for which Imperial has become known.