Police are hunting thieves who stole more than 40 exclusive bottles of wine from a famous Spanish restaurant hotel including one worth an estimated £262,000.
Chateau d’Yquem 1806, which was bought by the owners in an estate sale at Christie’s London 20 years ago, was the most valuable wine.
The thieves, who are thought to be an English-speaking woman and man, arrived late and are suspected that they committed the crime as a meal was being delivered at their room.
One suspects that he entered the hotel’s wine cellar on the ground floor and took 45 bottles of wine, including the gem in his hotel owners’ collection.
The theft took place in the early morning hours of Wednesday morning.
Jose Polo, one owner of the hotel restaurant, stated to the local press that one of the suspects did this by reserving a room and dining with another. He then asked for something in the kitchen in early morning.
“When the kitchen staff brought the plates to the room, one of them took advantage of the opportunity to enter the wine cellars to take the bottles in a bag.
In an open letter addressed to the media, Mr Polo and Tono perez stated that they had suffered theft in their wine cellars after a terrible pandemic that affected so many people both economically and socially.
A pair of thieves have stolen 40 bottles of wine from a two star Michelin restaurant including a Chateau d’Yquem 1806 worth more than £260,000
The wine was stolen from the exclusive Atrio Restaurant Hotel in the city of Caceres in western Spain
“More than a theft, it’s almost as if they’ve forced us into their territory, gagged us, and beat us.
“We feel an overwhelming sadness today. These 45 bottles are very special and were purchased over the years with great effort.
“What hurts us most is Chateau d’Yquem from 1806 which was about to go extinct two decades ago. We saved it with one of our most beautiful stories ever of the wold wine.
“That bottle was part, almost, of our personal history. It was also part of the history the hotel, Caceres, and all the wine lovers.
“It is THE bottle, impossible substitute, 215 Years of history, wars, peace, and construction. The couple concluded their letter by saying: ‘Our hearts have been broken, but we are ready for fighting on.
According to reports, the Chateau d’Yquem owners said they wouldn’t sell it ‘for a million euro’ because of its sentimental worth.
The full cost of the bottles taken has not been officially revealed but has been estimated at around £1.7 million
Nearly 40 other bottles of wine were taken were reportedly expensive Romanee Conti.
The exclusive wines cost on average £10,000 at the Atrio Restaurant Hotel but one of them, the Montrachet Grand Cru 1999 Magnum, costs a £21,600.
The full cost of the bottles taken has not been officially revealed but has been estimated at around £1.7 million.
Police have yet not made any official comments.
The wine cellar at the Atrio Restaurant Hotel is regarded as one of the finest in Spain and Europe.
It has wines from 140 countries and has been developed over the past 35-years since the landmark building opened.
The identity of the suspects in the theft has not been revealed. They were both professionals and checked out of the hotel at 5:15 on Wednesday morning before the crime was discovered.
David Ramartinez, a food critic and caterer, stated that these exclusive bottles of wine are often traded in commodities.
He stated that it was a hundred liters of liquid that no one knows can be consumed.
These bottles cannot be sold in the public market, but they can be traded on a hidden marketplace.