A case of 1982 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild was the leading lot at Christie's first "online only" auction.

The 12 bottle case sold for $42,350, towards the top end of its $35,000-45,000 estimate at the Signature Cellars sale, which ended on August 20.

The Lafite Rothschild 1982 case sold for $42,350

The sale, and forthcoming exclusively online auctions of art and watches, are evidence of Christie's desire to attract new clientele. A quarter of the buyers were new customers, Per Holmberg, head of Christie's New York wine department, told Bloomberg.

A six bottle case of 2000 Chateau Petrus beat its $20,000 high estimate by 33.1% with a $26,620 performance.

Wine specialist Anthony Hanson recently called Petrus "the king" of wine investments.

The Bordeaux has posted an average annual return of 14% "all the way through bull and bear markets" and is "incredibly dependable as a chateau", he told the Drinks Business.

12 bottles of 1982 Chateau Latour also performed well, selling for $21,780 to comfortably beat their $18,000 valuation.

The 301 lots on offer achieved $820,000 in total, with bidders from 29 countries including several from Brazil, Holmberg said.

"This sale was heavy on Bordeaux," he told the publication.

"Next time we are going to mix it up. We are consciously trying to get more Burgundy."

Christie's next online only wine auction will begin on October 16. We will bring you a full preview ahead of the sale.

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