Thieves broke into Domaine du Château de Viviers in the middle of the night, stealing wines with an estimated value exceeding EUR 50,000, according to the Chablis producer.
Burglars targeted Domaine du Château de Viviers earlier this month, making off with more than 150 six-bottle cases of its 2022 vintage Chablis wines. They also took 225 magnums (150cl bottles) from the 2020 and 2021 vintages, under the cover of darkness.
The total damage was estimated at over EUR 50,000 (GBP 42,700), said Arnould Lefébure, manager and owner of Domaine du Château de Viviers, which practices biodynamic and organic farming. "This is a big shock for my wife and me because it represents a lot of wine," Lefébure stated. The winery produced about 21,000 bottles in 2022, but only 1,500 bottles in 2021, including 100 magnums, due to frost damage during the growing season.
Police are investigating the burglary, which occurred between 1am and 4am on the night of March 4-5. The burglary demonstrates a high level of organization. "They did the robbery with a lot of professionalism. They knew what they were doing because I calculate that it’s more than three tonnes of wine. You cannot just put it in a small car; you have to use a real truck. And they had to put it in by hand because there was no other way," Lefébure explained.
The magnums, in particular, were challenging to move. "All of them are in wooden cases, and you cannot carry more than two cases by hand because they are quite heavy, almost four kilos each. To move 225 magnums like this, which were in separate wooden cases, probably required at least four, five, or six people. So they were very well organized. We are discreet, we don’t have advertising outside."
The stolen wines were awaiting shipment to China and included three main cuvées from the 2022 vintage—Côta Grand Claude, Sous les Plantes, and Cuvée B&B—plus magnums of Côta Grand Claude 2020 and Poseidon 2021.
Lefébure has little hope of recovering the stolen wines but noted that the bottles have distinctive features, such as handmade blue wax capsules and unique labels. "So I may have some chance at one time to find people selling my wine somewhere," he said. He urged anyone with information to contact him at Domaine du Château de Viviers by phone or email, adding that he could identify the bottles from a photo.
Lefébure, an oceanographer and co-founder of the non-profit organization GoodPlanet Belgium, took over his family estate in 2019, assuming direct control of the Domaine’s wine operations, which had previously been managed by Maison Albert Bichot. In addition to transitioning to organic and biodynamic practices, he launched a vine sponsorship scheme with around 400 sponsors. The estate has had vineyards since the 13th century, with vines first planted by Cistercian monks of Pontigny Abbey.
Source: Decanter