On
the night of December 2, unknown vandals devastated the Montalcino cellar of
Brunello-producer, Case Basse, destroying more than 62,000 litres of wine.
The
boutique estate lost all of its vintages from 2007 to 2012 in the unprecedented
attack, in which vandals deliberately emptied the 10 barrels that contained the
vintages. Officials have estimated economic damages amounting to 2.5 million
euro.
Owner
of the Casse Basse estate (www.soldera.it),
Gianfranco Soldera, told the website Winenews.it that he discovered the crime
when he entered his cellar the morning of December 3. According to Soldera, no
other bottles or property in the cellar were stolen or damaged. Thus, it was a
pure act of vandalism.
The
incident has shocked both the small Brunello-making town of Montalcino as well
as wine lovers across the world. Many fear repeat acts of vandalism in other
cellars in the area.
The
Case Basse estate owns approximately six acres of vineyards, situated 350
meters above sea level, and produces just 10,000 bottles of Brunello a year
according to traditional methods.
