When the FBI arrests someone for wine fraud, you know the crime has moved into the mainstream. Rumours about the young wine enthusiast apparently called Rudy Kurniawan (he used several aliases) had been flying around the US wine community for some time, but it still came as a shock when, in early March, his house in southern California was raided. He was arrested and photographs of his counterfeiting equipment (including wads of labels of Chateaux Pétrus, Lafleur and Lafite) were circulated.
What, I wondered, would be the effects of the obvious prevalence of fakes on how fine wine sellers and buyers go about their business? As I asked many of the most obvious players for their reactions, one related bombshell hit Bordeaux last week. A year from now, with the 2012 vintage, first-growth Chateau Latour is to stop selling its wine en primeur. In future, its luxurious wines will be sold only direct from the chateau, with increasing concerns about provenance being a significant factor in this decision.
Another development is under way at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy. Its wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Corney & Barrow, which is also the exclusive UK importer of Bordeaux’s answer to DRC, Chateau Pétrus. For some years now C&B has been offering a discreet authentication service for those who have doubts about a bottle of Pétrus. It is free, but those taking advantage of it agree in advance that any contentious bottle will be confiscated. So far only a tiny minority of the 100 to 150 bottles inspected have proved fake, but, says C&B managing director, Adam Brett-Smith, “I suspect this will change.”