In a significant theft in Tuscany, thousands of wine bottles valued at €5 million have been stolen from the renowned Marchesi Antinori winery, marking what is considered the largest heist of its kind in Italy. A group of at least seven masked individuals breached the winery's cellar in Cortona, disabling alarms and surveillance cameras. Using company forklifts, they loaded two large trucks with 30,000 bottles of wine and fled the scene.
The stolen collection included some of the most sought-after wines by collectors, such as Solaia, Guado al Tasso, and Tignanello. Notably, Tignanello was among the first red wines in Tuscany produced without white grapes. The stolen bottles, all from the 2023 vintage, ranged in price from €120 to €400 each.
The theft occurred on a Saturday, just as the winery was preparing for a major shipment to international buyers. However, the crime was not discovered until staff arrived on Monday morning. Renzo Cotarella, chief executive of Marchesi Antinori, described the theft as unprecedented in Italy due to its scale and value.
Cotarella expressed confidence that investigators would locate the stolen wine, which included 3,000 bottles of Barolo Ginestra, some of them magnum-sized. He noted, "Two trucks full of merchandise can’t just disappear into thin air. The Tuscan roads are full of cameras, and perhaps with a bit of luck, we’ll recover at least some of the bottles."
Recent months have seen several thefts at Italian wineries, including one in Alba in the Piedmont region in mid-September. Cotarella suspects the same gang might be responsible for the Cortona theft, although he never imagined such a large-scale robbery could occur at his firm. The company's insurance does not cover thefts of such magnitude.
Cotarella remarked that while they considered the possibility of wine being stolen during transport, they did not anticipate a heist of this scale. The Corriere suggested that such sophisticated thefts typically involve individuals with extensive knowledge of wine, potentially targeting collectors, bars, or restaurants. A sudden increase in the supply of these wines could raise suspicion.
As investigations continue, Marchesi Antinori, established in 1385, has alerted customers to be cautious of any unofficial offers of its wine.
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