“…it is HDH’s policy that wine cannot be returned for a refund.” Jason Hernandez (lawyer for Hart Davis Hart in an email to me)
My lawsuit against Hart Davis Hart alleges that HDH had, based on multiple facts, not only knowledge that the bottle of wine was counterfeit, but that HDH had intent to sell this fake wine to an innocent, trusting buyer (who turned out to be me). It should be noted that I had purchased wines from HDH many times before (under previous ownership), and never had a problem; therefore, I trusted them.
HERE ARE THE DETAILS OF MY “MERITLESS” CASE:
HERE ARE THE FACTS OF THE CASE:
I purchased a bottle of 1955 Leroy Chambertin from Hart Davis Hart in mid 2019.
The consignor had purchased the same bottle from Acker in Dec 2018.
A few months after he bought it from Acker, the consignor (whose identity I cannot reveal at this point) consigned it to HDH for HALF the price he paid to Acker for it.
BIG RED FLAG (especially to HDH! — they had to know it was fake).
In mid 2019, I bought this bottle as a birthday gift for my friend Jay McInerney (55 is his birthyear).
In January 2020, in NYC, with a group of very well known wine collectors, we drank the bottle at a dinner for Jay’s 65th birthday. I had sent the bottle to NYC 3 months in advance in order to let it settle.
Every single wine expert at that dinner was very suspect, not only of the fact that the wine did not taste like 55 Leroy Chambertin (which Jay and I have shared more than a dozen times) but by the blurry label and the unstamped cork and the strange (never seen before on a Leroy bottle) importer strip (Consolidated Distilled Spirits Of Chicago).
The Cork was not stamped (Lalou Leroy told me all the 55 Leroy corks were stamped because it was the year her father died, and his final year of making wine — so every single one of the corks from their 1955 Vintage was stamped “1955” as a memorial to her father). The 1955 Leroy Chambertin is regarded by Ms. Leroy as “the best wine my father ever made.”
Martine Saunier (importer of Leroy for more than three quarters of a century) told me in writing that “Consolidated Distilled Spirits” (the import strip) absolutely never imported any 1955 Leroys. Absolutely not. Especially not the very very special 1955 Chambertin.
What’s even more interesting is that the ACKER auction sticker had been removed when I received the wine (I was only able to discover that the wine was originally purchased from Acker through private investigation), and through the admission of lawyer Jason Hernandez himself, in writing.
Finally, as the most suspicious, questionable behavior of all, the guy who runs HDH, Allan Frischman, testified against John Kapon and Acker as an “expert witness” in the Kurniawan trial. Why would Mr. Frischman testify as an “expert witness” against an auction house that he claimed to be fraudulent, and then, just a few years later, sell a wine from that same auction house for HALF the price his consignor paid for the wine just a few months before? VERY BIG RED FLAG.
When I went back to HDH, I received an over-the-top threatening letter from a lawyer named Jason Hernandez, who was an assistant prosecutor in the Kurniawan trial, but is now in private practice in Miami (and apparently pals with Allan Frischman), representing white collar criminals (as well as others).
All of the dozens of experts I have shown the photos of the bottle and cork have written to me, based on the photos, that the label itself is extremely suspect, they have never seen the import strip “Consolidated Distilled Spirits of Chicago” on a Leroy wine (although some have seen it on La Tache from the 70s and 80s), and all the Leroy corks are vintage stamped, especially the most famous Leroy of all, The 1955 Chambertin.
Does this seem “meritless” to you?
This is the correct analysis for the drinker’s (as opposed to collector’s) loss in my opinion. There is the additional intangible of the drinker’s pleasure being diminished after the event upon learning of the forgery. The pleasure of drinking such wines does not end at the urinal but goes on for ever in the memory and,perhaps, bragging rights.
Hey Jefery - Welcome to the Board. We have a few mutual friends including Jay. I also sat directly across from you at the infamous Ponsot auction. If I may ask I would think you would have a bottle like this checked out before you bid? And if you did buy it and discover it to be a fake I am surprised any auction house would not refund your money given your experience, in particular with the bottle.
Jefery, I’m sorry to hear of your experience. I’ve dealt with Michael Davis for decades, and specifically with HDH for over 10 years. I’ve had nothing but superlative customer service from them over the years. I hope that you can work out your dispute with them.
I did not realize that HDH had an ownership change. Was this recent? Who are the new owners? I am aware that founder Paul Hart retired a few years ago, if that is the ownership change to which you refer.
You’ve made a strong argument based on the label, primarily, that HDH should have been suspicious. The one part I don’t think supports your argument is the fact that you paid half of what the wine went for at Acker. (You didn’t say how either price compared to other bottles at auction in recent years. That would be crucial to know.)
I can think of two counter-arguments to your reliance on the price you paid:
Auction prices vary a lot, and people regularly pick up bottles at prices well below what they’ve sold for in other auctions.
The low price at HDH might suggest that other bidders were suspicious, implying that you should have been, too.
It’s ironic if the price was high at Acker. By now, one would hope there would be an Acker discount.
There’s another aspect of this whole mess that has bothered me, namely ‘pollution’ of the corpus of tasting notes on old wines. How do we know which notes are based on the real McCoy and which on Cuvee Kurniawan, or Reserve Rodenstock or … I guess “amazingly fresh for its age … “ is an obvious red flag , but in general how do I know what’s genuine and what isn’t.
Another twist here: Jay McInerney, the recipient of Jef’s gift, attended a number of dinners with Rudy, and gave publicity in his WSJ columns to Acker events even years after the Ponsot bottles tipped off the world to the symbiotic relationship between Acker and Rudy. And Jef, because of his wine collecting, has been featured in articles and a documentary about Rudy’s scam.
Maybe I missed it, but he didn’t say he PAID half what it sold for at Acker, just that HDH offered it at half that price. I assume that means opening bid, and the hammer price could have been higher.
I never thought you would have the nerve to post anything on this thread.
For those of you who don’t recall who Jef Levy is, Jef was a participant in the “12 Angry Men” dinners and he was known as “Hollywood Jef.” This is the same Jef Levy that attended the Ponsot auction at Acker on April 25, 2008 and screamed obscenities when John Kapon announced that the Ponsot bottles were being withdrawn at the request of the Domaine. When you last saw Mr. Levy, it was in Sour Grapes. He was the individual wearing ultra-dark sunglasses at all times, even when being interviewed in his home. (I won’t comment on Mr. Levy’s ‘condition’ throughout the movie, but if you saw the movie and remember the individual you can judge for yourself.) Jef got way too much air time in the movie because he claimed to be a long-time friend of Rudy Kurniawan, claimed Rudy Kurniwan wasn’t guilty even after he was convicted, and defended Rudy to the very end. As one of the people commenting on Sour Grapes on Wine Spectator stated: “Funniest parts are the victims…Jeff Levy especially comes off as a total buffoon.” This is also the same Jef Levy who previously claimed to me, to Allen Meadows and to others that he was defrauded by Rudy Kurniawan who sold him counterfeit wines both directly and through Acker. He then refused to cooperate with the FBI and former Assistant US Attorney Jason Hernandez when they sought information from him. Jefrey Levy is generally referred to as the “bad Jef Levy,” to distinguish him LA’s other Jeff Leve (Jeff spelled with two Fs), the rhone and bordeaux wine critic.
Now, let’s correct a few of the alleged “facts” in Mr. Levy’s post:
First of all, Hart Davis Hart is still owned by the same individuals (Michael Davis and Paul Hart) and it is run by Paul Hart and Ben Nelson. Allan Frischman has the been the wine authenticator at HDH for many years. Allan Frischman is simply the best in the auction business - period. And it’s been that way for a long time.
Second, Allan Frischman did not testify at the Kurniawan trial. But he did submit an affidavit after Rudy was convicted during the penalty phase of the proceedings regarding the lack of authenticity of the wines sold to one victim.
Fourth, and most significantly, you omitted some critical details. The single bottle you apparently bought, Lot 3249 in the HDH June 2019 auction, was described as “Label slightly scuff marked; capsule torn.” You failed to explain whether you asked any questions about the bottle or asked for any photos before the auction. If not, why not? Why wasn’t that “torn capsule” a proverbial red flag for you? You claim to have tasted the 1955 Chambertin a dozen times (let me guess, with Rudy, of course!), so did you examine the cork when you received the wine with the torn capsule? Knowing that your great friend Rudy Kurniawan had sold counterfeit 1955 Leroy Chambertin, surely you examined the cork before opening the wine?
But there are other problems with your story as well. Martine Saunier did not begin importing Leroy wines until 1986. Consolidated Distilled Products was an authorized importer of DRC wines from 1966 until approximately 1976. Wilson-Daniels became a US importer for DRC wines with the 1978 vintage and, after the 1978 vintage, was the exclusive US importer for DRC wines. Prior to the falling out between Madame Bize-Leroy and Aubert de Villaine, most of the authorized US importers for DRC wines also imported Leroy wines. This includes Domaine Chandon (who imported burgundies during the 1970s) and for one or two vintages an import company jointly owned by Leroy and De Villaine. [Amended: Wilson-Daniels also imported and distributed Leroy wines from 1978 until Leroy changed her importer to Martine’s Wines in 1986.] I do not have direct evidence one way or another as to whether Consolidated Distilled Products also imported Leroy wines prior to 1986. But Allan Frischman probably does because it was a Chicago-based company. Moreover, the photographs you posted on your website show the strip label stating that the quantity of wine in the bottle is 730 ml. That is something which uniquely dates to the period around 1974-1977 for US imports. If you look at photos of French burgundies imported from that period, including DRC 1976s, most say 730 ml on the strip labels. By the 1978 vintage, everything again said 750 ml on the labels. I am confident that Martine Saunier, who I respect greatly, did not tell you anything about importation of Leroy wines into the US before 1986, because there were multiple importers for Leroy prior to her becoming the exclusive importer in 1986. I also know Allan Frischman well enough to know that he would not have offered a Leroy wine with a Consolidated Distilled Products strip label on it, unless he was confident that that they had imported Leroy wines.
As for your claim that “dozens of experts I have shown the photos of the bottle and cork have written to me, based on the photos, that the label itself is extremely suspect” – please tell me who some of these dozens of experts are? Surely you aren’t including any of the people in New York that you used to hang out with drinking wines with Rudy as being among those “experts.” Personally, I can count the “experts” on authentication on the fingers of my two hands. And please tell me why these alleged “experts” think the label is suspect. On the left below is the bottle you are complaining about from the photo posted on your own website. On the right is a bottle of 1955 Leroy Chambertin from the cellar of my friend John Tilson, who I’ve known for almost 40 years. John was the founder and principal author of the Underground Wine Journal. The bottle in question was purchased more than 30 years ago and was consumed at a dinner with another friend of mine in November 2015. Below that is a 1955 Mazis Chambertin from Leroy imported by Domaine Chandon (note the 730 ml tag on the strip label) purchased in the 1970s and consumed at the same dinner.
So, yes, by all means please tell me who your “dozens of experts” are and why they think the label on the wine you bought is “extremely suspect.” And tell me why it is that you waited until AFTER you opened and drank the wine to consult with these “dozens of experts”?
Interesting as always, Don, and I am suspicious of anybody so close to Kapon. And also, the movie did not show him in a great light.
That being said, I would like some clarification of the HDH response.
I am assuming you can return unopened bottles, if something strikes you as suspicious when you actually get to handle it. If not, I do have a serious problem with that.
A good friend who brought a bottle of 1955 Leroy Chambertin purchased from Martine to a November 2007 dinner I attended reminded me today that Wilson-Daniels also imported and distributed Leroy wines from 1978 until Leroy changed her importer to Martine’s Wines. Accordingly, I have amended my earlier post above.
Mark: I am trying to get some further clarification from HDH. The language in their published terms and conditions is very terse. HDH, like all auction houses, has a general policy against returns and they all declare that auction sales are final. I assume that HDH would permit a return/refund where a customer found that a wine, when received, did not conform to the original catalog description or where the buyer presented competent evidence that the wine sold was not authentic (so long as the bottle hasn’t been opened and consumed). But I don’t think any auction house would permit a purchaser to unilaterally declare that they are “suspicious” about authenticity and to then return the wine for a refund. Nor would any auction house in the world permit the purchaser to drink the wine, then declare it is counterfeit, and obtain a refund.
Personal experience, received a 6 bottle lot, one bottle was in terrible condition with fills base neck for a 2010 white burgundy that was described in the catalog. They refunded that bottle.
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