Normally, when a wine reaches into the thousands at auction, you would expect the wine in question to be a) very old and b) very French. So when a 6-litre Imperial bottle of 1992 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon sold for $500,000 in 2000 (the wine was just eight years old at the time!), it raised more than a few eyebrows.

Earning the title of America’s most expensive bottle of wine - the Sauvignon Blanc has an average price of €5,400 per bottle on the secondary market while the Cabernet Sauvignon storms in at a very respectable €3,300 average price, Screaming Eagle is one of the world’s most coveted wines. The estate is shrouded in mystery; interviews are never given, cellar tours are a no go and even the 500 annual case production (from just 57-acres of vineyard) and 12-year waiting list are just educated guesses by those in the know. These of course only bolster the estates legendary status. What we do know is that it is owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke (owner of the Los Angeles Rams and Arsenal football club) and its winemaker is the boy-wonder Nick Gislason, who took over from Andy Erickson in 2010 just 28.

The wine reached its giddy heights after superfan Robert Parker gave Screaming Eagle’s first 1992 vintage the near perfect 99 points. This soon became the perfect 100 for the magic 2007, 2010 and 2012 vintage. However, this has raised some controversy; Parker does not taste blind and it is impossible to be impartial to the wine’s status. This has led some critic to believe that the wine, while very, very good, is not worth its huge price.

Regardless of whether the wine is worth its price for drinking, it is certain that as an investable wine option, it is a no brainer. Released at $800 (€710), the price doubles the instant it hits the secondary market. Investors may find value in the 2016 vintage but for age ability, the 100-point 2012 is perhaps the best option.