Robert Parker: The wine market in 2010
In a long post on his notice board, Robert Parker - the world's most influential wine critic - has given his thoughts on the shape of the wine market in 2010.
The 2009 first growths will begin to appear in mid to late May, according to the expert, with tiny initial releases at 2005 opening prices, causing a market panic as buyers - falsely - perceive wine shortages to be on the horizon.
Meanwhile, buyers can expect 2009 Lafite Rothschild to rise to around €1,000 (£876) by September as prices are driven up by Chinese interest, and should forget about the first growths - "unless you are a partner in Goldman Sachs," he wryly remarked.
Parker also suggested that the high price of 2009s will drag up the prices of back vintages, saying: "Geezers like me with lots of '03 Medocs, '00s, '98 right bankers, '96 Medocs, '90s and '82s will need to dramatically increase our insurance as our net worth soars."
Finally, the critic advised wine fans to take advantage of the great wine available from less prestigious regions, which will have dramatically fewer chasers.
Robert Parker published the first issue of his magazine, the Wine Advocate, in 1978 and its readership has since grown to over 50,000 subscribers.