An example of one of the wines targeted by the thieves…
Burglars targeted Domaine du Château de Viviers earlier this month and escaped with more than 150 six-bottle cases of its Chablis wines from the 2022 vintage.
Using the cover of darkness, they also took 225 magnums (150cl bottles) from the 2020 and 2021 vintages.
Total ‘damage’ was estimated at more than €50,000 (£42,700), said Arnould Lefébure, manager and owner of Domaine du Château de Viviers, which works biodynamically and organically.
‘This is a big shock for my wife and me, because it represents a lot of wine,’ Lefébure said. The winery made around 21,000 bottles in 2022, but only produced 1,500 bottles in 2021, including 100 magnums, due to frost damage during the growing season.
An example photo of one of the magnums, Côta Grand Claude 2020, including the distinctive blue wax capsule used across the winery’s wines. Photo credit: Arnould Lefébure / Domaine du Château de Viviers.
Police were investigating the burglary, which took place between around 1am and 4am on the night from the 4 to 5 March.
It is the latest example of wine being targeted by thieves, and the burglars appeared to demonstrate a high level of organisation.
Lefébure said, ‘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
