The unresolved mystery of the theft of the world's most expensive champagne

Domaine Jacques Selosse produces around 57,000 bottles of champagne a year from grapes grown and harvested on 7,500 hectares of vines on Chardonnay plots in France. A delight for connoisseurs of this sparkling drink. His product is one of the best, so much so that he has won numerous awards and the critics always congratulate him. But beyond the best choice for trendsetters, it also reflects the pioneering role of its creator, who has transformed the production of champagne and the history of the region in which it is produced. So much so that in 2013, they suffered one of the most mysterious thefts of this gold elixir.

Although the warehouse has an anti-theft system, the focus was not on safety. "Selosse has become one of the most coveted brands in the world and has awakened not only champagne, but also a large part of the French product." The rise in the price of wines over the past 15 years is so surprising it's hard to follow, "said Blake Murdock, national director of The Rare Wine Co., the leading supplier in the United States.

It is clear that thieves knew what they were stealing: 300 boxes of wine worth over 360,000 euros. They have never been identified and the loot has never been found. On the night of March 21, a batch destined for the United States and Japan was packaged and prepared like any other. The looters broke in and took away eight pallets containing 3,700 bottles. But they did not stop there. They also stole 6,000 bottle labels, 12,000 bottlenecks and 2,500 cork stoppers, which they would surely use to sell another product fraudulently.

The thieves could have sold them in Eastern Europe via intermediaries that bypbad the official distribution channels. "They were professionals," said Florende Thunevin, the company's representative at Wine Spectator. "They erased DNA traces with alcohol sprays, fingerprints and palms with special liquids and systematically avoided safety sensors," he added. Because of their accuracy, the authorities suspect that they may have received domestic help. But despite the investigations, they never discovered who had stolen the liquid gold. Until now, the resolution of this mystery remains a difficult unresolved puzzler.