Leading auction houses expect there to be a fall in the price of Bordeaux and Burgundy in 2012.

As fantastic Bordeaux vintages in 2009 and 2010 were coupled with booming demand from the newly affluent Chinese middle classes, the prices paid for the likes of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Latour and Chateau Margaux reached record levels in 2011.

While the end of the year saw demand fall and prices ease a little, Burgundy wines, and Domaine de la Romanee-Conti in particular, eased into the vacant gap.

However, Sotheby's Jamie Ritchie told Reuters the drop in Bordeaux prices is down to a change in attitude in the Far East, explaining: "I think generally speaking demand in Asia has changed from 'buy at any price' to 'buy at what I consider a reasonable price'.

"We'll see less wine coming onto the market in 2012 and I think that as supply tightens, pricing will firm up."

Richard Harvey of Bonhams agrees that prices are falling, and insists that this is a simple case of the law of supply and demand.

"Undoubtedly, the economic situation has put a slight dampener on [the price of wine], but that's less important than the amount of stock coming onto the market," he explained.

Yet Mr Ritchie insists that changing attitudes are part of the fabric of the market, and it no way signals a downturn in fine wine.

"The fine wine market is in constant evolution. I still have a pretty good outlook in terms of the growth of the fine wine market in the long term. There will be new buyers, new collectors, new drinkers from around the world," he added.

Acker Merrall and Condit was the leading auction house in 2011, with sales in Hong Kong helping it achieve global revenue in excess of $100 million (£64 million).