The thief took the 2004 La Tache, so we can exclude Stuart from the list of suspects.
That would be +/- $2 million on the wine list?
Wonder if covered by insurance.
I wonder how that works.
Do people get replacement cost, or the amount they purchased a wine for?
Hi all, I’m fairly new here but have been a long time lurker. I’ve enjoyed reading all of the thoughts behind what I find a fascinating story.
A few things about this whole story really intrigue me. First, I have counted the list of reported stolen wines over and over again. By my count there were 72 750’s PLUS 5 mags reported stolen for a total of 77 individual bottles. Not 76 which is being reported everywhere. Please correct me if this is incorrect.
Next, I was informed by a Champagne collecting friend that '04 Dom in mags is not yet available at retail in the US. A call to Crush in NYC confirmed that mags won’t be available until around March of 2015. So obviously TFL used some pull to get these early. Not sure why that fact interests me.
Finally in regards to the Mugnier’s I see one of two possible explanations. 1. They wanted the Bonnes Mares, which is like $750/bottle and grabbed the wrong stuff. This is still confusing because there are wines on that list that have so much more value. 2. Perhaps more likely and more comically, they had 4 empty spaces in a box and just grabbed the first 4 bottles they saw. To reiterate, the lists says 76 bottles were stolen. But by my math there were 72 bottles and 5 magnums for a total of 77 bottles. 72 bottles is 6 cases. Thieves get all the DRC and Screagle loaded and realize “OH SH*T, WE’VE GOT ROOM FOR 4 MORE BOTTLES. QUICK! GRAB THOSE!” Boom 6 full case boxes.
Anyway just some thoughts on a story I find fascinating.
John, welcome.
About the count discrepancy I have yet to see anybody in the current generation of reporters who can do basic math. About the theft itself according to the SF Chron the alarm wasn’t set. The whole deal just screams inside job. But it is kinda fun to picture a bunch of guys sitting around in a park in Fairfield or Santa Rosa drinking DRC and Smoking Loon or whatever in paper bags. "
“Hey Mario, this wine you got for the party is pretty good, le’s get the ribs on the BBQ, ees time to eat”
Anton, Thanks for the welcome
Glenn, I’m just stunned that once the count was incorrectly published on SFGate (Which I believe had the list first) that every other reporting outlet just ran with that number without doing a count. I do a small wine article for a local website in Chicago and I’m more careful with details like this than people writing for major publications. It’s shocking.
I love the imagery of the guys in the parking lot drinking out of paper bags. I hadn’t read that the alarm was not set. Now it sniffs more and more like an inside job which I had already suspected.
Does anyone know if Consigment sales through a restaurant are legal in CA?
If it was an inside job, why would they take the Mugnier?
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered…or something like that.
Or, they were just close to the DRC/SE. I’m guessing their cellar isn’t small and time was of the essence. Grab a few of whatever to fill the boxes and GTFO of Dodge.
Kinda what I’m thinking too. “HEY FILL THAT BOX! AND LETS GO!”
Anyone interested in starting a crowdfunding drive to help Michelin 3-star restaurants?
Inside job? Maybe. I’m sure that the employees and ex-employees will top the initial list of leads/suspects, as well they should. But just about everything about the place is common knowledge to anyone who bothers to look - the value of the wines, when they would be closing for renovations. The alarm not being set increases the likelihood of an inside job, but even that could have just been sloppy complacency. There have been a few occasions when the last employee out the door in our business has forgotten to set the alarm.
Detective’s first question: “Have you fired anyone recently?”
Not really.Not a beefy door or lock system at all.The entry is only as secure as the lock system.
Surprised to see that… ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
I’ve solved the case. Thief was a guy who had a dinner reservation next month, wanted to bring his own bottle of 2002 Screaming Eagle, but they had it on the list for $6,500. So he stole it and some other bottles to misdirect the police, and now he can bring in his own bottle and pay $150 corkage instead of $6,500, since it’s no longer on their list!
With the money he saves he can afford to fuel up his helicopter!
or buy the composting toilet for the RV
But if it’s an inside job, and they know there’s no alarm on, then there’s no reason for haste. And you’d already have planned what you were going to take. Even if Barney Fife comes along, rattling door knobs, you just say, “Hi, Barn. Workin’ late tonight! That damn contractor busted the door on us, so we gotta move this stuff into storage during the big remodel.” “Okay, boys. Have a good night!”
I’ve also had my guys forget to our set the alarm occasionally or not be able to close all of the contacts due to an electrical-mechanical issue with the entry points, so they just leave it. And its not as though Healdsburg is the crime capital of California, so people get complacent.
RussParsons of the LATimes talked to ThomasKeller:
Nice that he can keep things in perspective.
Tom
