300 bottles of Palmer stolen from château

Over 300 bottles of Château Palmer were stolen from the estate’s cellars recently – and then recovered.

The 30 cases, totaling 318 bottles and worth €72,000, were stolen by a gang already wanted by police for a spate of thefts in the area.

It is thought that the thieves, who seemed well-informed of the château layout, broke into the cellars having used the roofs to gain entry – exactly the method used in the other break-ins.

Local newspaper Sud-Ouest reported that the local gendarmerie recovered the cases, all untouched, and arrested seven suspected perpetrators earlier this week.

Over 30 gendarmes struck early on Monday morning at the houses of various supects. It was at a house in Montussan that they made the surprise discovery of the wine cases.

Three men were remanded in custody to be investigated for their role in the other break-ins in the area, particularly at a tobacconist in Saint-Caprais-de-Bordeaux, a jewellery store at a shopping centre in Saint-Sulpice-et-Cameyrac and at a hardware store in Saint-Loubes.