Spanish police have been investigating after thieves broke into the cellars of Michelin-starred Coque by way of a next-door property and stole prized bottles of wine from the highest Madrid restaurant.
Round 132 bottles have been taken, in accordance with an preliminary depend. The total worth of the wines stolen was nonetheless being assessed but it surely was estimated to be not less than €150,000, stated Cristina Pérez Olmos, communications director for Coque.
Some bottles had been within the cellars for a lot of, a few years and could possibly be arduous to interchange, she stated, though the restaurant has been suggested to not identify particular labels at this stage. Thieves managed to get round safety measures that have been in place, she added.
It’s the newest instance of thieves concentrating on the nice wine cellars of unique eating places, a phenomenon that has been seen in a number of international locations.
Police investigating the raid on Coque’s cellars in Madrid stated they believed the burglars have been particularly concentrating on the wine, with nothing else taken, El Pais newspaper reported, citing police sources.
Rafael Sandoval, who manages the restaurant’s wine cellar, stated in a broadcast interview printed by Europa Press that he needed to warn different members of the restaurant commerce to attempt to stop future burglaries.
Sandoval, who’s one in every of three brothers behind Coque – alongside chef Mario and eating room supervisor Diego – received a Spanish Nationwide Gastronomy Award in 2017 and the restaurant’s wine cellar consists of hundreds of high bottles from world wide.
Cristina Pérez Olmos stated it had taken loads of effort and time to construct up the cellar. ‘Then to have somebody simply are available and take it’s fairly terrible,’ she stated, including the staff was hopeful that the thieves will be recognized. She, too, suggested different eating places to be cautious.
For now, Coque was again open as regular, with the wine cellar welcoming friends as of yesterday lunchtime (2 November), she stated.
‘For us it’s key, as a result of our wine cellar is so unbelievable, it’s a giant a part of the expertise, so we needed it to be restored as quickly as potential,’ she stated. ‘It’s not our purchasers’ fault that this occurred to us.’
She stated the Coque expertise concerned 5 essential steps. ‘First you go to the cocktail bar and you’ve got a chunk there and a drink, after which the wine cellar and the “vestry”, which is just a little chapel contained in the wine cellar with all of the Sherry wines, and then you definately go as much as the kitchen and then you definately sit down within the eating room.’
Numerous separate incidents have seen the theft of nice wines from main eating places in recent times.
The theft at Coque in Madrid comes round a yr after a break-in at one other high Spanish restaurant, Atrio in Cáceres, western Spain, and which additionally has two Michelin stars.
Wines stolen included a bottle of Château d’Yquem from 1806. A pair have been arrested earlier this yr in reference to the Atrio heist.
In 2020, thieves stole uncommon Burgundy from Michelin-starred Formel B in Copenhagen. In 2019, two-Michelin-star Maison Rostang in Paris informed of how burglars had taken ‘irreplaceable’ bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines, amongst different nice wines.
Up to date 3 November 2022 with new feedback from the restaurant.
