A case of "lusty, meaty" Château Pétrus 2000 is among the lots for sale next month in Hong Kong during Sotheby's fourth installment of "The Classic Cellar from a Great American Collector."

The fourth session of the sale, offering the most valuable wine collection ever to hit the block at Sotheby's, is expected to raise HK$28.5–40.8 million ($3.6-5.2 million). It takes place Jan. 23 at the Mandarin Oriental.

Demand for fine wine has rocketed since wine duties were abolished in February 2008 and Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams resumed regular wine sales in the city. Sales at Hong Kong wine auctions have grown to $47.2 million so far this year, a 75 percent jump over all of 2008, according to government data. An October Sotheby's wine auction in Hong Kong brought in $8 million.

Hong Kong could overtake London this year as the second-biggest wine-auction market, behind New York, with sales of HK$496 million ($64 million), according to the city's commerce and economic development secretary, Rita Lau.

The case of Château Pétrus 2000 (Pomerol, Cru Exceptionnel) is expected to fetch HK$200–320,000 ($25–40,000), the most of any of the 840 lots for sale Jan. 23. The wine boasts what the winemaker, Christian Moueix, calls "a controlled explosion." Tasting notes describe it as having "Lusty, meaty, soft vanilla fruit on the palate. Great long finish, a beautiful, classic vintage."

More than 59 additional lots of Château Pétrus from 1975-2005 are on the block, including a case of 2005 (Pomerol, Cru Exceptionnel) valued at HK$200-280,000 ($25-$35,000).