Saturday, October 30, 2021

£295,000 Bottle of Wine Stolen from Spanish Restaurant’s Cellar

THE GUARDIAN: Owner says 215-year-old Château d’Yquem was among 45 bottles taken by English-speaking man and woman

Bottles of wine in a cellar. The restaurant’s owner said he had not calculated the total value of the stolen bottles, which were insured. Photograph: Régis Duvignau/Reuters

Two thieves stole 45 bottles of wine, including an extremely rare 215-year-old bottle valued at €350,000 (£295,000), from a collection at an upmarket hotel and restaurant complex in south-west Spain, the owner has said.

The theft took place in the early hours of Wednesday, according to José Polo, one of the owners of Atrio, a complex comprising a hotel and a two-Michelin-starred restaurant with a cellar sheltering more than 40,000 bottles in the city of Cáceres.

“They were professionals, they knew exactly what they were doing” Polo said after deciding to make the robbery public through a letter to customers and friends.

The suspects are a man and woman who spoke English and gave staff the impression of being a refined couple, who checked into the hotel and dined at its restaurant. They asked a hotel front desk clerk to serve them more food and when he went to the kitchen, leaving security camera monitors unattended, the man slipped into the cellar and stole the bottles, Polo said. » | Associated Press in Valbuena | Friday, October 29, 2021