A gang has stolen 30,000 bottles of some of Italy's most prized wines, worth £4.2 million, from the Marchesi Antinori winery near Cortona in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. The company believes it to be the largest wine theft ever seen in Italy.
At least seven people were involved in the sophisticated operation, which took place on Saturday night. The thieves made off with bottles of sought-after wines including Solaia, Tignanello and Guado al Tasso, all from the 2023 vintage, which was known to be an excellent year for wine. The theft was not discovered until Monday.
Well-prepared gang disabled alarms and cameras
Chief Executive Renzo Cotarella said the thieves first disabled the winery's alarm system and surveillance cameras before entering with two large trucks. Using the company's forklifts, they loaded the vehicles with wine and fled during the night.
"It is certainly a very well-prepared gang," Cotarella said, adding that it may be the same group that has targeted other Italian wineries in recent months. "A theft of this size and value has never occurred in Italy."
Stolen bottles worth up to £420 each
The stolen bottles are typically sold at a retail price of between £130 and £420 each. They included about 10,000 bottles of Solaia, one of Antinori's flagship wines, from what Cotarella described as an exceptional year.
The company, founded in 1385 and run by the Antinori family for 26 generations, said it was alerting customers worldwide to be wary of offers outside official sales channels. "We are informing our clients around the world and asking them to pay attention to any offers outside the official channels," Cotarella said.
Police examine footage and trace shipment
Authorities are investigating how the stolen wine may be sold. Police and Carabinieri officers are examining surveillance footage and other evidence. Cotarella said he remained confident investigators could trace the shipment, noting that two truckloads of wine would be difficult to move without attracting attention.
"Two lorries full of merchandise can't just disappear into thin air," he said. "The Tuscan roads are full of cameras; perhaps with a bit of luck we'll be able to recover at least some of the bottles stolen from us. All from the 2023 vintage, a great year."
The theft eclipses previous high-profile wine robberies in Italy. In 2017, thieves stole about 2,000 bottles of rare wines valued at £635,000 from a warehouse near the Adriatic resort town of Cervia.
