Baghera wine auction hit by counterfeit fears
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An auction of nearly 1,500 wines from Burgundy's exclusive Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estate has been overshadowed by concerns raised over the authenticity of a small number of wines sourced for the sale.
Baghera Wines removed ‘five or six lots’ before its Geneva auction over the weekend, according to a report by The Independent newspaper, which quoted Baghera director Michael Ganne directly.
Concerns were raised on the WineBerserkers.com forum by Don Cornwell, a US-based lawyer who has repeatedly voiced fears over counterfeit wines at auctions and who has gained a reputation as something of a fake wine investigator.
Baghera did not immediately respond to Cornwell’s concerns when contacted by Decanter.com. A spokesperson for the auction house said an official statement would likely be released on Tuesday (24 May).
Baghera was reported to be investigating the authenticity of several wines initially sourced for the auction. Ganne told the Independent that a sale would not stand for any wine lot found to be doubtful.
The auction itself fetched around 4.2m Swiss francs (US$4m) over the weekend, with more than 250 lots of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) joining top Bordeaux and Champagne.
‘The first part of the Master Cellar sale will be dedicated to one of the finest collections of ever brought together, giving this event an extraordinary and historic character,’ said Baghera in its pre-auction catalogue.
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‘The 266 lots of DRC represent a total of 1,407 bottles, magnums and jeroboams of
grands crus, produced by the Domaine between 1952 and 2011.’
Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.
He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.
Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.
Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.