Gang disables alarms at Marchesi Antinori cellar and drives off with two lorryloads of Tignanello, Guado al Tasso and Solaia.A gang of thieves has carried out what is being described as the biggest wine theft in Italian history, taking around 30,000 bottles worth an estimated €5 million from the Marchesi Antinori cellar in Cortona, in the province of Arezzo.Investigators believe at least seven people took part in the raid, which happened overnight on Sunday 4 October.The thieves switched off the alarm system and disabled the cameras covering the cellar’s interior and perimeter. They then drove in with two large lorries and used the company’s own forklift trucks to load them. The theft was discovered on Monday morning, when staff arrived for work, Corriere della Sera reports.All the bottles are from the 2023 vintage. They include Solaia, Tignanello and Guado al Tasso, which retail at roughly €120 to €300 a bottle. About 10,000 of the stolen bottles are Solaia, a wine of which only some 60,000 to 70,000 bottles are made each year.“This was certainly a very well-prepared gang, perhaps the same one that has hit other wineries in Italy in recent months,” Marchesi Antinori chief executive Renzo Cotarella told Corriere della Sera. He added that a theft of this size and value had never happened in Italy before.Cotarella said he was confident the wine could be found, telling the Financial Times that two lorries “cannot simply disappear”. He said Tuscany’s roads are full of cameras and that the company hoped to recover at least part of the haul.The company has warned customers around the world to be wary of offers from outside official channels. Buying stolen goods is a crime in Italy. Experts say the bottles may be destined for collectors or restaurateurs, but a sudden surge in supply of such rare wines would be likely to raise suspicion.The thieves may have been working to order. In mid-September, 3,000 bottles of Barolo Sorì Ginestra, worth €300,000 to €400,000, were taken from the Conterno Fantino estate in Monforte d’Alba, Piedmont. Until now the biggest wine theft on record in Italy was in Cervia in 2017, when a collection of 2,000 bottles valued at €750,000 was stolen from a warehouse, according to Italian media.Marchesi Antinori, based in Florence, was founded in 1385 and is run by the 26th generation of the family. Corriere reports that the company’s insurance did not cover a loss of this size, as such a theft had been considered unthinkable.

A gang of thieves has carried out what is being described as the biggest wine theft in Italian history, taking around 30,000 bottles worth an estimated €5 million from the Marchesi Antinori cellar in Cortona, in the province of Arezzo.

Investigators believe at least seven people took part in the raid, which happened overnight on Sunday 4 October.The thieves switched off the alarm system and disabled the cameras covering the cellar’s interior and perimeter. They then drove in with two large lorries and used the company’s own forklift trucks to load them. The theft was discovered on Monday morning, when staff arrived for work, Corriere della Sera reports.

All the bottles are from the 2023 vintage. They include Solaia, Tignanello and Guado al Tasso, which retail at roughly €120 to €300 a bottle. About 10,000 of the stolen bottles are Solaia, a wine of which only some 60,000 to 70,000 bottles are made each year.

“This was certainly a very well-prepared gang, perhaps the same one that has hit other wineries in Italy in recent months,” Marchesi Antinori chief executive Renzo Cotarella told Corriere della Sera. He added that a theft of this size and value had never happened in Italy before.

Cotarella said he was confident the wine could be found, telling the Financial Times that two lorries “cannot simply disappear”. He said Tuscany’s roads are full of cameras and that the company hoped to recover at least part of the haul.

The company has warned customers around the world to be wary of offers from outside official channels. Buying stolen goods is a crime in Italy. Experts say the bottles may be destined for collectors or restaurateurs, but a sudden surge in supply of such rare wines would be likely to raise suspicion.

The thieves may have been working to order. In mid-September, 3,000 bottles of Barolo Sorì Ginestra, worth €300,000 to €400,000, were taken from the Conterno Fantino estate in Monforte d’Alba, Piedmont. Until now the biggest wine theft on record in Italy was in Cervia in 2017, when a collection of 2,000 bottles valued at €750,000 was stolen from a warehouse, according to Italian media.

Marchesi Antinori, based in Florence, was founded in 1385 and is run by the 26th generation of the family. Corriere reports that the company’s insurance did not cover a loss of this size, as such a theft had been considered unthinkable.