I don’t know if you’ve discussed that new Baghera auction somewhere (sorry if I’m at the wrong place), but have a look at the “vertical collection” of Mouton they are offering at a sale next tuesday:
all bottles (except 1962, 1969 and 1972) from 1945 to 1979 have “la bergerie” capsule: clearly not Mouton capsules (and the capsule are too long to allow to see the vintage on the cork as you can usually do with old mouton)
labels are not numbered. Those are the usual label you find for a few euros on ebay.
Do you know anything about those “la bergerie” capsules?
Maybe Don Cornwell has already talked about this collection.
I love these posts, and I think DC is Berserker #1. I’m concerned however that these posts are great counterfeit tutorials. If you are trying to counterfeit wines, wouldn’t DC’s posts be excellent tutorials? It’s scary how amateur some of these mistakes are, and scarier to think how many good fake bottles must be out there. I wonder what percent of the world’s “DRC” is actually DRC? 90%. Maybe 50% in China.
I really enjoyed your post. I’ve never purchased old, rare wines because I’ve always been concerned as to the authenticity. I did buy a few bottles of 2010 Pegau from an auction once - not terribly expensive. I was disappointed when they showed up and the bottles (from the same lot) had 2 different capsules. Also, the label on the ones I thought fake had wrinkles in them - clearly not applied at the winery. I was a bit shocked that someone would bother to fake mid-priced wines. The bottles are still sitting in my cellar…
LOT 37 – the purported Mouton vertical is absolutely full of fakes
Alain is absolutely correct. Lot 37 consists of a huge number of obviously counterfeit Mouton bottles. It would appear that with the possible exception of the 1962, 1969 and 1972, all of the bottles from 1945 through 1984 are clear counterfeits.
With three exceptions (1962, 1969 and 1972) all of the bottles from 1945 through 1979 have incorrect non-chateau capsules from La Bergerie.
The labels lack the usual Mouton bottle numbers or the printed R.C. (for Reserve du Chateau).
In many cases the glass is incorrect for the vintage. For example the 1945 Mouton is modern glass and the glass codes are obviously different. The 1945 Mouton, like many others from the 1940s, is a broad shouldered bottle with its shoulders slightly broader than the base, so that the bottle tapers gently downward. The Baghera bottle has straight sides, as do all of the others from the 1940s.
The 1945 Mouton in this lot is a one-piece label. The original was two separate pieces, with the top piece slightly less wide than the main label.
Many of the colors on the labels in the Baghera vertical looked muted or somewhat incorrect.
1945 Mouton from Sotheby’s December 2014 Sale from the Cellar of Dr. Ed Planz____1945 Mouton from Baghera Vertical Lot 37
Close-up of glass codes on counterfeit 1945 Mouton in Baghera Lot 37
This entire lot clearly should never have been offered for auction. It seems impossible to believe that the three principals of Baghera, all of whom were ex-Christie’s (Paris), wouldn’t immediately know that this lot is full of counterfeit wines.
On the left is photo of the 1948 Mouton posted by Baghera on its website. (At least I can give them credit for that.) On the right is an enlargement of the upper portion of the label. Notice that “S P E C I M E N” is embossed into the label.
Again, this bottle like the others has a completely incorrect capsule, a blank space where the bottle number should be, and incorrect bottle shape and glass codes.
Here are two correct examples of 1948 Mouton Rothschild:
FWIW, I have a 1973 Mouton (the Picasso bottle with the allegedly horrible wine) that I bought in the late 1970s from Zachys, probably when Rudy was in diapers. I just checked it. It does not have a Bergerie capsule but the capsule is much longer than any of those pictured above, I would say close to the bottom of the cork in the B&G bottle on the right above.
Wow. That was fast. Better late than never, I suppose, but it is disturbing to think that they only way to get auction houses to remove fakes is for someone to catch them, post about it on WB, and have it garner media attention. Imagine how many lots gets sold to unwitting buyers because no one here spotted them in the catalog (or there were no photos…).
Article is in French, but the basics are over 1,000 bottles (including mags and jeros) ranging from 1937 onwards with Baghera’s estimate set at 4 million euros for the total lots. From the cellar of an anonymous collector…
