The mysterious theft of the most expensive champagne in the world
During the early morning of March 21, 2013, one of the most mysterious thefts documented in the wine industry took place. It affected the Gallic winery Domaine Jacques Selosse, one of the most sought-after brands of the moment and the case has just been filed given the impeccable performance of the criminals.
The wine quickly became a luxury product by the acritical acclaim and numerous awards you got your champagne. The product aroused the curiosity of millionaires who love sparkling wines, who ordered numerous bottles to surprise their guests. The value of the brand soared, all wine connoisseurs seemed aware of it, except the brand itself, which on the night of the events did not have a security system to match.
«Selosse has become one of the most coveted brands in the world, and I believe that they they still hadn’t realized«Stated Blake Murdock, Country Director of The Rare Wine Co, its main supplier in the United States. The event affected the distribution of champagne in Japan and North America.
Domaine Jacques Selosse grows and harvests her grapes in 7.500 hectares of vines on plots of Chardonnay in the Côte des Blancs – Avize, Cramant, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and some plots of Montagne de Reims, dedicated to the cultivation of Pinot Noir, in Aÿ, Ambonnay and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The price of your product has not stopped growing in the last 15 years. Their raw material allows them to distribute only 57.000 bottles per year.
Theft: an unsolved mystery
On the night of the car, two people managed to access the enclosure where the liquid gold was kept and took 300 boxes valued at more than 360.000 euros.
The thieves took eight pallets containing 3.700 bottles, the damage they did to the brand did not end there: more than 6.000 bottle labels, 12.000 neck labels and 2.500 caps stolen will serve to fraudulently sell product counterfeits.
Florende Thunevin, representative of the company to «Wine Spectator» considers that the «They erased the traces of DNA With alcohol sprays, they removed fingerprints and palms with special liquids. In addition, they systematically bypassed security sensors. ‘
The security forces involved in the case suspect that the criminals may have received some internal help given the precision with which they acted. Despite the investigations, they never discovered the authorship of the theft.
Since then, the brand reinforced the vigilance of its warehouses and warehouses, aware of the value they hold and the large losses caused, which transcend the value of the stolen objects. The The most painful robbery that morning was the one that had an impact on the name itself. Using their labels, the thieves sold a sparkling wine of questionable quality that hardly has anything to do with the original product.