Following raids in Lyon and Toulouse at the end of February, 1,160 bottles of wine were seized and ten suspects arrested. According to industry media, the wines were attributable to two burglaries, one of which occurred in July 2020 and the other in October 2020.
Part of the loot came from the Domaine Philippe Chavy in Puligny-Montrachet. This is the case of the burglary in July, in which, according to the owners, 2,000 bottles of good vintages worth 80,000 euros were stolen. The wines themselves come from world-famous appellations such as Meursault. The bottles seized also include Pouilly-Fuissé bottlings of the Domaine Sangouard-Guyot from the Mâconnais, which were stolen in October. The winery reported a loss of 850 bottles worth 2,000 euros.
The burglars had acted professionally, wearing gloves and using cleaning agents containing chlorine to cover up further traces. So far, French police have recovered 40 percent of the loot. During the investigation, they came across a criminally organised network. Investigations continue. sw
