(Independent) - An American wine fraud expert has called into question the authenticity of a treasure trove of the world’s most expensive wine after it went under the auctioneer’s hammer in Geneva.

Six lots of vintage bottles from the mythical Romanée Conti Domain in Burgundy were withdrawn from the multi-million pound auction at the last minute. The rest of the sale of 1,407 bottles – worth up to £11,000 each – proceeded as planned.

The auction house, Bagheera Wines, told The Independent that it would “urgently” verify the authenticity of all bottles in the sale. If any proved to be suspect, their sales would be cancelled.

“We take the protection of our customers’ interest very seriously,” said Michael Ganne, director of Bagheera. “I am sure that the overwhelming bulk of the lots will prove to be genuine. If there is any doubt at all, the sale will be nullified.”

Mr Ganne told The Independent that he had ordered “five or six lots” to be withdrawn from the sale because of the allegations made on the site Wineberserkers.Com.

Despite the doubts, the auction raised 6.2m swiss francs - or £4.3m - substantially above the estimate

The claims were made by Don Cornwell, a Los Angeles lawyer and burgundy wine expert who has been described as “the fine wine bidder's hero” and the “wine fraudster's worst nightmare”.