Blaming the US for everything is a common theme. Instead of just saying there is a growing market for cheap Rosé, the headline just assigns blame. Clickbait is growing tiresome.
Presumably not Rudy K’s handiwork. Should we have a generic, non Rudy wine fraud thread and keep this on topic?
Richard:
Todd actually consolidated a few other threads with the Rudy thread over time, so this has been a combined wine counterfeiting (generally) and global wine fraud thread for quite a while. (Although I recognize that sometimes related topics (e.g. Dragon 8 and the death of Hardy Rodenstock) end up getting moved off into separate threads. I think it serves a purpose for people to post links to stories like this because it educates everyone about the width and breadth of the wine counterfeiting that goes on. It also acts a reminder for those who claim that counterfeiting is limited to the ultra-expensive bottles that their claim is incorrect.
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Who exactly is making that claim?
You want the name of every person who has ever made that claim? C’mon man.
There is a general sense (posted or alluded to in several threads) ‘I don’t have to worry about fakes because I don’t buy $$$$ wine’
So high volume, lost cost wine is faked. And high cost, low volume wine is faked. And everything in between is faked. So let this be a reminder that anytime anything is faked, someone will post to this thread reminding us they told you so. Amen.
Now where is the like button…(?)
You can find alot low quality fake wines in China. You dun even hesitage to point out it is a fake wine, but what they counterfeit Penfolds 389/407 are much better than other 1st GCC wines, you can not spot it out, unless you drink it.
Spanish Authorities Bust Wine Counterfeiting Ring Allegedly Producing Fake Vega Sicilia and Pingus
Yes, as the article says, the counterfeiting had been going on for at least four years and the bad guys made an estimated $1.7 million in profits. They also sold the wines through auctions and to restaurants. This points, once again, to the conclusion that no type of collectible wine is safe from counterfeiting. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Northern Rhones, Southern Rhones, Barolo, Barbaresco, Super Tuscans, German wines, Screaming Eagle, Harlan and other high end California collectibles, old port and Madeira and now Spanish wines – they’ve all been faked – as well as lots of less expensive wines, including the recent scandal with huge quantities of counterfeit French rose wines.
The UK in particular continues to be plagued by counterfeiting of moderately priced wines often sold in grocery stores, restaurants and other wine outlets. The London Times recently reported that 66 million bottles of counterfeit Chateauneuf du Pape (1.3 million bottles) and Cotes du Rhone (the balance of the bottles, representing up to 15 per cent of the annual output of the Côtes du Rhône appellation from 2013 to 2016) was sold in the UK. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vintage-scam-66-million-bottles-of-french-wine-said-to-be-fake-nwrswg0vp?_ga=2.176151398.535254259.1533160830-829888161.1533160830 A couple of years ago the UK discovered that a massive quantity of counterfeit Australian chardonnay and shiraz had been sold there.
The continuing width and breadth of the counterfeiting problem also points up the need for modernization of a lot of State statutes in the US. While almost every state in the US has liquor statutes that make it a crime to make, sell or distribute counterfeit wine and liquor, in most states that is a misdemeanor. As anyone who has worked with law enforcement will tell you, there is virtually zero chance that state or local prosecutors will prosecute a non-violent misdemeanor crime. The prosecutors claim that they don’t have the resources to devote. The industry would be well-advised, as a matter of self-protection, to encourage the respective states to update their statutes to make selling counterfeits a felony offense.
Aside from the direct fraud, as it were, I wonder about the reputational harm as well.
Can’t say I’m surprised by this sort of thing, probably far more $$$$ for relatively little effort vs Rudy’s artisinal fakes.
Surprised that neither Ms Downey or Mr Cronwell have chimed in on the Drouhin sale, given there are many new instances of differentation of labels on display. How can we now know of all of the variances in DRC alone, and then all the other famous domaines that will come to auction, from these ancient by gone vintages?
Too many to even list…though someone should come up with a list 
ullages on 1937 mags of DRC RC, seem…uh, like they were topped off. Labels of La Tache that are visibly indicative of new labels being applied, but nothing in the descriptions mention that> 1940’s. Usual practice to note when btls have been applied with new labels or re-waxed, but nothing on the 1961 Drouhin Musigny, for example.
1945 DRC RC is typed, and no mention of how the 1945 is typed as "I"945…humm, conspiracy fanatics, how did an “I” get typed in place of the number 1? (even Rudy is not that sloppy).
Sotheby’s notes the different style of label on the 1962 DRC RC, has DRC ever used that style on any other vintage, vineyard…I’ve never seen one like that?
I was thinking, some of the ‘players’ on this site, or elsewhere; should throw out the gauntlet, and match $ for $ a bid on the two btls of 1945 DRC RC. Had this idea, for good Karma to Mr. Cornwell, who has mentioned to me in private, his health issues…he McCain said it, everyone has to die one way or another. If Struck & McCabe get can $500K in gofundme at the blink of an eye for their legal fees, we should have enough time to start a gofundme for bidding on those 2blts, such that the ‘player’ who bought the Geneva '45 DRC RC, can come together with Drouhin, the ever boastful R. Rosania, Barzelay, AubertdV, Meadows, Geofrey Troy’s '45 RC if he still has his btl, and taste 4 or 5 of these side by side with equally grand dinner, in Burgundy. The tasting of a lifetime of the remaining “holy grail”…would love to read the notes of each of them from D. Cornwell, or which they all thought impressed them the most.
just a few years late, don’t have time at all to search this thread (on a spotty motel internet connection)…but wondering why Mr. Cornwell wanted to see the color of the glass on the Spectrum btl to compare with the Geneva btl from 2011? Pictures on the internet, when there is no color calibration/syncing done, do not represent colors accurately…unless it’s a very glaring discrepancy, brown bottle that should be green.
Oh well, here’s the pale green color on the Geneva '45 DRC neck, not ‘high-resolution’ but good enough. hmm, can’t dragNdrop the image, and the forum software is saying it’s not a valid url, so I’ll just post it with an asterisk, you remove that and get to the Getty link I’m looking at…just click on the image that you should see in the upper middle of the Getty page, to get the full size image.
888*www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/picture-taken-11-may-2007-shows-a-christies-employee-news-photo/74155297#geneva-switzerland-picture-taken-11-may-2007-shows-a-christies-a-picture-id74155297
The issues of labels, capsules and corks is addressed in the catalog on page 20:
LABELS, CAPSULES, CORKS
The Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines in this
sale were delivered to Maison Joseph Drouhin unlabeled.
The labels were received separately and
applied by Maison Joseph Drouhin. In some cases
Maison Joseph Drouhin did not receive labels for
the bottles. These bottles were delivered to the
Drouhin family’s personal cellar and labels were
amended to reflect the correct vintage, such as
the 1947 Richebourg (pictured). Additionally it
is believed some of the wines being offered were
purchased in barrel from DRC and were bottled
by Maison Joseph Drouhin. As a result some of
these wines have Maison Joseph Drouhin branded
corks. Many of the DRC bottles have wax
capsules and it is assumed they were applied by
Maison Joseph Drouhin. Please reference specific
lot inspection notes.
https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2018/09/running-the-numbers-on-rudys-fake-wines
‘Running the Numbers’ - Interesting reading from Stuart George, who himself got caught up with some ‘incorrect’ DRCs a few years back…
Actually, confirmed to me by Robert Drouhin, via Véronique, that the vintages in which Drouhin bought the wine in barrel - so made their own decisions on when to bottle et-cetera - still used labels and corks (I assume not bottles) that were sent from ‘the domaine.’ In certain vintages Drouhin bought all the wines, with the exception of RC, in barrel - so the rest was up to them…
Actually, I’m quite confident about the provenance of these wines. I have worked with Veronique and her father Robert Drouhin on multiple occasions over the last several years to obtain their help to confirm whether suspect DRC wines that were labeled as Mise Drouhin were in fact counterfeit. They have always been extremely helpful and generous with their time and they have provided invaluable information that has removed some counterfeit DRC wines from the 1940s from the market. I’m also confident about Sotheby’s abilities to properly vett the wines. As John Danza pointed out, the information which explains the sometimes unique labels and capsules on the bottles being sold by Drouhin is set forth in the catalog. It is consistent with the known history of Drouhin’s purchase of barrels of DRC wines and their receipt of some unlabeled bottles as DRC’s French distributor. I could only wish that I had the resources to be able to purchase a couple of the cellar treasures being sold in the auction.
If this is posted elsewhere I apologize.
Told the Rudy story to a friend.
He asked why the people did not notice that there was no sediment in these “Older” bottles? Or did Rudy add sediment?
Phil:
On the older bottles Rudy manufactured they were in some cases based in part on old bottles of wines (like Patriarche burgundies) that Rudy bought in Europe to get the old glass and feedstock for his blends. He bought huge quantities of these wines. You may also recall some of the testimony from the trial about Rudy insisting that the sommeliers in New York ship him the empties – and Rudy insisted that they should leave the sediment in the bottle for this alleged display he was supposedly assembling. (To me that would have been the ultimate red flag - but I was always skeptical about Rudy anyway.) There are other tricks too. For example chateauneufs throw lots of sediment even after only a few years.
Has anyone taken a look at the recent Baghera catalog? I know there have been some issues with their auctions in the past. A friend who was considering bidding gave me the catalog (link below). I don’t have the knowledge to identify frauds, but the 6-pack of '71 Rousseau clos de beze looked too good to be true.
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