Gang on trial accused of stealing 4000 bottles of rare Bordeaux wines

[Hydra]

Gang accused of stealing 4000 bottles of rare Bordeaux wines faces trial

Date June 23, 2015 - 10:17AM
Henry Samuel

Chateau Haut-Bailly - its winery and vineyards are located south of the city of Bordeaux. Photo: Supplied

Paris: Fifteen people went on trial on Monday for stealing nearly 4000 bottles of Grand Cru wines worth €720,000 ($1 million) from a string of Bordeaux chateaux in France.

The alleged thieves were arrested last year in a vast sting operation - called Cassevin or Winebreak - involving 300 police in four regions of south-west France and Paris.

The men are accused of mounting a "highly organised" operation to swipe some of the world's most expensive and inaccessible bottles from merchants and 13 renowned chateaux, including Margaux, Lafite Rothschild, Yquem and Haut-Bailly.

Bottles of wine are displayed at theworld's biggest wine fair, Vinexpo, in Bordeaux, south-western France, last week. Photo: AP

These are "among the most prestigious wines from the [Bordeaux] 1855 ranking or the Saint-Emilion classification," said a local expert.

Prosecutors say the bottles were sold on to well-heeled wine lovers and restaurants.

The defendants include an uncle and nephew alleged to be the masterminds of the scheme, two teachers and a political sciences professor from a Paris university.

The village of St Emilion among the vineyards of the Bordeaux region. Photo: Supplied

Investigators claim the gang - between June 2013 and February 2014 - stole 3771 bottles and made a profit of €250,000. The thefts spread fear among the top chateaux, with owners wondering who would be next on the burglars' list.

Colonel Ghislain Rety, police commander, said: "It was highly organised. They would steal a van and head to the vineyards and load up several dozen cases of wine."

Eric Baille, head policeman of Merignac, said: "The criminals were well versed in surveillance and armed robbery".

People sample the bouquet of a glass of wine during a workshop Vinexpo last week. Photo: AFP

Hundreds of bottles were recovered along with a large amount of cash and weapons. Some of the wines could fetch more than €1000 a bottle.

Last year two men were jailed for two years for stealing 47 bottles of Bordeaux wine from a brokerage office in Bordeaux.

The Telegraph, London with Fairfax Media

A man wears a virtual reality head-mounted display, at the international wine fair Vinexpo in Bordeaux last week. Photo: Bob Edme