A record-breaking wine theft that conceals an unresolved mystery. The Parisian restaurant La Tour d’Argent reported to the authorities last week the disappearance of wine labels valued at 1.5 million euros. Among the missing labels are several great names in French oenology. The Third Division of the Judicial Police of Paris has been tasked with the investigation, but no evidence of break-ins has been found, and the bottles could have been stolen at any time after January 2020, when the last inventory was conducted.
A bitter revelation
The discovery occurred following the routine inventory, conducted in January 2024, of the 300,000 bottles that make up the impressive wine list of the restaurant. A sommelier from the restaurant told the French newspaper Le Parisien that a total of 83 bottles appear to be missing compared to the last inventory done in 2020.
Among the stolen bottles are some labels from the prestigious Domaine De La Romanée Conti, with market prices ranging from several thousand euros to record-breaking amounts achieved at auctions. For example, a bottle from 1945 was auctioned for the sum of 482,000 euros in 2018. However, the thieves may encounter difficulties in reselling the stolen goods as the bottles are numbered, the sommelier reported to the French newspaper.
The oldest restaurant in Paris
With its 400-year history, La Tour d’Argent is an institution in the French capital, so much so that it inspired the 2007 Pixar animated film Ratatouille. Located in the 5th arrondissement of the city, overlooking Notre Dame Cathedral and the Seine, it has been at the center of historical events and a destination for famous personalities. Among the famous figures who have crossed the threshold of the restaurant are Charlie Chaplin, Queen Elizabeth II, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Salvador Dalí, and actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
The restaurant reopened in 2022 after renovations, and a list cataloging all the bottles in its possession was compiled. The resulting wine list is an 8-kilogram volume that, when presented to diners, is transported on a special trolley. A tangible proof of the reputation it has gained as the largest wine cellar in Paris.
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