A recent wine auction held in Hong Kong by Sotheby's saw all but five of the 1,010 lots sell-out - bringing a combined HK$61.5m.

Most impressive was the record-breaking sale of a six-litre bottle of Chateau Petrus 1982, selling for HK$726,000 (or $94,000).

According to its seller, the Chateau Petrus smells of prunes and spices. The bottle sold to an unidentified Asian bidder after a heated bidding contest.

The remaining five lots were later sold at private auction, according to Sotheby's spokeswoman Rhonda Young, reports Bloomberg.

A bottle of Chateau Paris 1989 sold for HK$387,200, surpassing its estimate of HK$280,000.

However, according to one experienced collector, quoted by Bloomberg, the same wine recently sold for a 7% higher price in London.

Only one-out-of-every-100 lots were bought by non-Asians.

Increasingly, the Chinese are demonstrating a taste for top-grade vintages, particularly Bordeaux.

Mainland Chinese buyers led the bidding, followed by Hong Kongers, Taiwanese and Singaporeans. The lots went under the hammer with low estimates, apparently to attract new buyers.

The weekend's takings far surpassed Sotheby's presale estimate of HK$47.8m.