The Bordeaux wine authorities are teaming up with their Chinese counterparts to try and combat the growing menace of wine fraud.

Concern is growing about the problem of counterfeit wine and how it is impacting on Asia's own wine industry.

China's growing middle class has developed a passion for fine wine in recent months, with the top Bordeaux first growths such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateaux Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Latour proving especially popular.

Genuine bottles of top vintages have been commanding high prices at auction, but this seems to have also created a market for criminals trying to fool wine enthusiasts and importers with fakes.

Now Chinese investigators have called in Bordeaux wine association the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) to help it trace genuine wines and identify fakes.

The CIVB has itself been conducting random visits to Chinese supermarkets to identify what fake bottle has been flooding the Asian market, and passing the information on to the Chinese authorities.

"This is so that they can see links between companies that sell those false bottles, and where those bottles may have been produced in China," Thomas Jullien of the CIVB told Decanter.

"They want to establish links between importers and producers because they need proof that a product is false. They appreciate our help."

Marcus Ford of the Pudao wine boutique in Shanghai added that counterfeit bottles of Bordeaux could end up undermining the hard-earned confidence that China now has in fine wine.

One renowned Bordeaux estate, Chateau Margaux, has added the new Prooftag system to all its bottles to try and eliminate the threat of reproduction.

Prooftag uses a unique bubble pattern and reference number that can be traced back to the chateau. Once broken, the seal is destroyed and cannot be recreated.