News

Wine worth over £112,000 stolen from Michelin-starred restaurant

25 February 2020 By Phoebe French

Between 50 and 60 bottles of wine worth over one million Danish kroner (£112,000) have been stolen after thieves smashed through a wall in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen.

Formel B, a restaurant in the Frederiksberg area of Copenhagen, was targeted by thieves on Sunday (23 February) night, according to a statement on social media.

Owners Rune Amgild Jochumsen and Kristian Arpe-Møller said that they are still totting up their losses, but believe between 50 and 60 bottles of “high value” wines were taken.

These include bottles of the following: Domaine Leroy Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru 2014; Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 2014; and Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair La Romanée 2017.

They estimate that wine worth over £112,000 was stolen after thieves smashed through a wall and “specifically targeted” their high value, rare wines.

Arpe-Møller told Danish news agency Ritzau that the burglars first broke into a wine shop adjacent to the restaurant before smashing their way through the brick wall into the cellar.

Copenhagen Police have launched an investigation into the incident, however no arrests have been made so far, Danish media reports.

Jochumsen and Arpe-Møller are encouraging social media users to share their post in the hope that someone will recognise the stolen wines.

The statement continued: “We are, of course, extremely sad and distressed after the incident. It is a close to irreplaceable collection of wines that we have spent many years building and that has disappeared in a single night.

“If anyone has any information that could be useful in the investigation, please contact Copenhagen Police or us.”

Those with information relating to the incident are advised to contact authorities by phoning 114.

Restaurants and hotels with large wine collections are often targeted by vino savvy criminals.

Last month, the UK’s smallest five star hotel, Hillbark Hotel in Merseyside, offered £2,000 reward for the safe return of a stash of stolen wine, including three bottles of 1942 Perrier-Jouët. In November last year, thieves also broke into the Lime Wood Hotel, which is owned by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, making off with around 80 bottles of wine worth approximately £65,000.

One of the most high-profile recent wine heists took place at the Michelin-starred Maison Rostang in Paris last year, when staff found that around 150 bottles worth an estimated €400,000-600,000 had been taken.