The restaurant’s sommelier, Rafael Sandoval, tells how the thieves acted
three hooded took their time to carefully wrap the precious pieces in protective paper bottles of Pétrus, Château Lafleur, Harlan Estate and old ‘riojas’ from Tondonia, Marqués de Murrieta or Marqués de Riscal that treasured one of the best restaurant cellars in Spain, that of the bi-starred Coque (Madrid).
According to what has been recorded in security cameras, three people were loitering around the restaurant on the night of the notorious robbery, that of October 31; shortly after, three hooded men accessed the restaurant with a radio through a closed pharmacy which, in turn, communicated with a patio of the establishment. Once in that courtyard the thieves entered through a back door to the premises and broke the glass of the cellar to subtract 132 of the 25,000 bottles which houses.
“With all the tranquility in the world”
“They acted with all the calm in the world, wrapping the bottles in paper so they wouldn’t break,” sommelier Rafael Sandoval, co-owner of Coke along with his brothers Mario (cook) and Juan Diego (dining room).
He adds that “they were shot” and “by famous brands.” All its vertical of Pétrus, some wines from Pomerol (France) which, according to the specialized store Lavinia (Madrid), arouse “an almost mystical devotion” and have “a legendary reputation” not only for their quality, but also for their small production of about 2,500 cases a year, which raises the price of each bottle a “thousands of euros“.
They acted “on request”
They also went for those of the French winery Château Lafleur and the Californian Harlan Estatewhose productions are among the most prestigious and coveted on the market, and stole a Château d’Yquem from 1983, but they left a bottle of another vintage more valued by the experts. That is why Rafael Sandoval believes that these “white collar thievesThey acted “on request”.
The order should also include “Very old” ‘riojas’ from the prestigious Viña Tondonia, Marqués de Murrieta and Marqués de Riscalwhich they also stole.
“The greatest damage is emotional”
Although initially the sommelier valued at about 175,000 euros for the 132 bottles stolenassures that they are still calculating the real value: “One of the petrus bottles I bought it 15 years ago, today it has risen in value.” But, he adds, “the greatest damage is emotional“because they have taken”bottles inherited from our grandfather -who started the family business in 1955- that are unrecoverable, you can’t get the same ones”.
And it is that The Sacristyas the Sandoval brothers baptized the coke cellarit is product of “travel, time and investment” in search of “singular and unique wines“, many from small unknown producers, as well as an impressive collection of old wines. “It is the effort and savings of the family, from 30 years of work, everything is reversed here. We understand that more economy is generated by selling it and the one that is not sold is revalued every year.”
“All security measures”
Rafael Sandoval has made an effort throughout his career to create one of the most important wineries in Spain and, in addition to being insured, it had “all security measures“; but it was Halloween night, full of parties and noise and “no one heard anything.” The thieves knew that right next to the restaurant, located precisely on Calle del Marqués de Riscal, there was a pharmacy that had been closed for some time due to owner retirement.
Of course, he acknowledges, by including the visit to The Sacristy in the experience of Coque’s diners – some of the appetizers are tasted there before taking others in the kitchen and going to the dining room – “photos and videos are taken”, with what is left in view of the customers of that market luxury black that “increasingly revolves around wine”.
“A lot of confidence” in police work
Although still affected by what happened, Rafael Sandoval has “a lot of confidence” in the police work and hopes to be able to recover those precious bottles.
Related news
In the meantime, The Sacristy looks impeccable again for the diners of Coke: “They are not going to take away our style.”
The sommelier alerts consumers: “The black market for wine moves more and more [hace un año fueron sustraídas de Atrio (Cáceres) 45 botellas de vino valoradas en 1,6 millones de euros] so I ask not to buy wines at half price because they are either fake or stolen. Doing so fuels these robberies.”