A Bordeaux wine merchant has been accused of selling table wine labelled as top Bordeaux from prestigious chateaux including Pichon Longueville, Leoville Barton, Gruaud Larose and Saransot Dupre.
Amar Derriche, a former cellar master based in Moulis-en-Medoc, allegedly blended and bottled vins de table and charged well over their true value – but far less than the real wines would have cost.
For example, he was selling the 2000 vintage for €20 (£14) per bottle - ten times the price of a vin de table, but less than half the price of the wines they were supposed to be, which would have cost upwards of €50 (£35) a bottle.
Derriche was caught in a random check by the customs office, which found 13,000 fake labels, and 5,600 fake capsules and corks in the back of his shop - alongside several genuine cases.
He at first confessed, but later retracted the confession, saying the labels were to be sold as souvenirs, and the real bottles were for his personal consumption.
Of the chateaux involved - who declined to comment – six have begun a civil suit against Derriche for 'damage to reputation' and are seeking the equivalent of £43,000. The customs office is seeking £29,000, and the INAO (the national wine industry oversight body) expects £11,000.
A judgement is expected on 17 December.
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"Of the chateaux involved - who declined to comment – six have begun a civil suit against Derriche for 'damage to reputation' and are seeking the equivalent of £43,000". Because no-one could tell the difference?
Anthony Rose
It's not only merchants who maybe guilty of selling fake top Bordeaux! I stll carry with me the suspicion of having a fake bottle passed off on me in a fairly up-market restaurant (in Britain).
While the wine was not bad it certainly was not up to what I would have expected! My suspicions were hightened by the fact that by the end of the meal the label appeared to be about to peal off (suggesting that it may have been applied in the 'back office') and the fact that the wine-waiter asked very pointedly (almost gleefully) how I had found the bottle.
While I longed to tell him, since it was my wife's birthday I saw no point in destroying the generally excellent atmosphere in what could only have been an unpleasant accusation. However, we took the course open to all patrons, we have not been back since.
Philip Styles, St.Gaudent, France
During my long sommelier career, I have personally come across several bottles of fine wine with labels not perfectly glued, or in the worst of scenarios, with labels coming off the bottle completely. However, this is not the only clue which has to be taken under consideration when examining a "suspicious bottle". Most of the time, variation of temperature in the wine cellar or bottles kept into temperature-controlled caves may be subject to this kind of problem; therefore, this is an absolutely normal phenomenon that most of the time is not clearly explained or addressed by the sommelier. My question is....did you ask the sommelier about the provenience of the bottle and why did not you enquire about the quality of the wine itself if in doubt of drinking a fake bottle?
Vincenzo Tagliavia MD, Bordeaux Connoisseurs
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"Of the chateaux involved - who declined to comment – six have begun a civil suit against Derriche for 'damage to reputation' and are seeking the equivalent of £43,000". Because no-one could tell the difference?
