Police in China recently came across 10,000 bottles of what they believe to be fake Ch?teau Lafite, a first-growth Bordeaux that fetches top dollar at auction, particularly in China. If genuine, the stash would be worth around $16 million. The wine was found in an abandoned home in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, owned by a man named "Zou" who has not lived in the house for 9 years and denies any knowledge of the counterfeit bottles, People's Daily Online reports.
So, what does a Chinese wine counterfeiting ring have that America's alleged wine counterfeiter extraordinaire, Rudy Kurniawan, doesn't? Very expensive guard dogs. The property was guarded by five dogs, including two very pricey Tibetan mastiffs; a rare breed of dog that recently sold for more than $1.5 million.
Anyway, as if this could get any weirder, the police apparently tracked down the man who had been feeding the dogs for three years, who said he did not have his employer's phone number. This is the latest of several high-profile wine counterfeiting busts in China this year, most of them centered on the counterfeiting of first-growth Bordeaux.
· Secret hoard of Lafite wine found in villa house [People's Daily Online]
· All Wine Coverage on Eater [-E-]