The best commentary on the Rudy K saga yet, fashioned by somebody who was there as a ‘player’.

http://oldvinenotes.com/
[Archived]

French businessman François Pinault just bought 0,417 hectares of Montrachet for 1 million € via @BourgogneLive

— Caroline PARENT GROS (@cparentgros) June 15, 2012

So, following on from yesterday’s news stories, now we know how Etienne de Montille can afford to buy the Château du Puligny-Montrachet 😉 But as far as I know the Château de Puligny-Montrachet actually held 0.0428ha – that only produces a little over 200 bottles per year! – so perhaps Caroline’s decimal point slipped:
http://chateaudepuligny.com/fiche_technique.php?id=15&type=1

So that would make the whole vineyard worth €186.7 million….!

[EDIT] There you go:

Uh oh, expensive typo. It is 1million € for 0,0417 hectares of Montrachet that François Pinault bought from Chateau de Puligny.

— Caroline PARENT GROS (@cparentgros) June 15, 2012

Whilst it doesn’t say that much in itself, I find it highly encouraging that they are so open about this:

Investigation at Labouré Roi:
Burgundy wine industry joins proceedings as civil party
Beaune, le 15 juin 2012

Following the announcement on Wednesday, 13th June of an investigation being carried out jointly by the fraud office and the police into a suspected case of fraudulent activity within the firm Labouré Roi, the Burgundy wine industry has decided to join proceedings as a civil party in order to be fully informed of the details of the case.

The Burgundy Wine Board (BIVB), whose primary role is to promote and enhance the image of its wines, recognises the seriousness of the accusations made being brought against this company.

It is on behalf of all the men and women who devote themselves to improving the quality of their wines every day and to making every bottle special that the BIVB intends to react in a determined fashion. It is therefore joining proceedings as a civil party in order to assess the allegations levelled against this firm and, consequently, the harm suffered by the industry.

Burgundy wines are renowned across the world for their prestigious appellations and their intangible and profound connection with the terroir. “More than half of Burgundy wines are exported to some 150 countries. This is why any suspicion of dishonest practice that might tarnish the reputation of these wines cannot be tolerated”, explains Michel Baldassini, Deputy Chairman of the BIVB.

Once the case has been analysed, the industry will of course take all necessary measures to prevent this type of situation from ever happening again.

“This affair must not be allowed to affect the vast majority of Burgundy producers and wine merchants who scrupulously comply with Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée principles”, concludes Pierre-Henry Gagey, Chairman of the BIVB.

Key figures about Burgundy wines:

3% of the French vineyard (28,000 ha)
100 Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées (or 22 % of French AOCs)
200 million bottles sold, 50% of which are sold in France
3 800 wine-growing estates
250 wine merchants
23 cooperative cellars

1. So plenty of hot air is being generated by the fraud story broken by Le Bien Public yesterday, but frankly there seems only hot air; the few known ‘facts’ seem to be an idea of the quantity of fraudulent bottles (one assumes lower appellation wine being given a higher appellation label rather than cutting with vin d’Algerie as was once popular) and that four directors of Labouré-Roi have been arrested. I guess more ‘facts’ might prejudice any trial, but let’s see if anything useful leaches out…
2. Château du Puligny-Montrachet has been bought by the de Montille family of Volnay. The only surprise here is that the official announcement of this has taken so long – there was plenty of ‘chatter’ already at the end of last year.
   

   « Ces deux exploitations avaient déjà développées des synergies », explique Etienne de Montille. Environ 5 hectares seront revendus. Au final ces deux domaines couvriront 35 hectares, dont 20 en Premiers et Grands Crus. Des vignes cultivées et certifiées en agriculture biologique.
   Source: The BIVB

3. The pretty domaine Le Clos du Moulin aux Moines (Auxey-Duresses) has also bought up some new vine in Pernand, a 1.42 hectare plot of chardonnay in the village lieu-dits of Les Champs and Combottes.
4. Last month the cooperative cellars of the Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais and Beaujolais unveiled their Coteaux Bourguignons label, ‘a new appellation which links Burgundy and Beaujolais’. The Fédération des Caves Coopératives Bourgogne-Jura (FCCBJ) brings together the cooperative cellars of Côte d’Or, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne and the even fruit industry of the Jura – so maybe some strawberry wine then?. Although the label will initially only be seen on red wines, the AOC Coteaux Bourguignons label could also be used for white and rosé wines in the future.

Enough news for now 😉

It’s not just about faking expensive old bottles like Rudy K, fraud can touch all buyers:

Bad news from the Côte d’Or – fraud at Laboure-Roi concerning up to 2 million bottles it seems! More information will doubtless follow…