Crime & Justice

Madrid eatery robbed of 132 bottles of wine valued at 175,000 euros

Madrid, Nov 2 (EFE).- Spanish police were investigating Wednesday the theft of 132 bottles of wine valued at around 175,000 euros ($173,000) from a Michelin-starred restaurant in Madrid.

Suspected thieves made off with the wine from El Coque – which has been awarded two Michelin stars – in the Spanish capital in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The assailants allegedly gained access to the Madrid eatery using an angle grinder from inside a closed pharmacy that shares a courtyard with the restaurant, police sources confirmed to Efe.

Once inside the courtyard, the thieves entered the restaurant through a back door and broke into the wine cellar.

The restaurant was closed on Sunday and Monday.

Coque’s cellar boasts a huge collection of approximately 25,000 bottles of wine, and is considered one of the most valuable in Spain.

It is even known as “The Sacristy”, and features a one-of-a-kind, antique Trafalgar demijohn from 1805.

Some of the wines, including old vintages from the first third of the 20th century, that were stolen were not even in the cellars themselves, sommelier and co-owner Rafael Sandoval told reporters.

Last year, another Spanish restaurant, the Atrio de Caceres in Extremadura, reported the theft of 45 bottles valued at 1,648,500 euros ($1,632,000), in a case that saw the arrest of a Romanian-Dutch dual national and a woman from Mexico.EFE

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