The $24,000 bottle at the center of a cinematic Virginia wine heist is back, but its owners say a happy ending didn't arrive with it. Police say a wig-wearing duo talked their way into the cellar of L'Auberge Provençale on Nov. 19, swiped ultra-rare Burgundies, and fled toward their car. The woman was stopped by a waiter; her male companion managed to get in the SUV, drive off, and ultimately board a flight to Vienna.
Now, an update in the case: The Washington Post reports that on April 13, a sheriff's sergeant walked into the restaurant's kitchen with a crate. Inside: the missing 2020 Romanée-Conti, valued at $24,000, and a 2019 Richebourg worth $7,000. (It was originally thought six bottles were stolen; the restaurant later realized the true number was four, two of which were found near the getaway car.)
The bottles were returned after someone contacted the arrested female suspect's eldest son, who arranged delivery to her public defender, then to authorities. Defense lawyers say the effort shows 57-year-old Natali Ray wants to make things right as she prepares to plead guilty Monday to grand larceny and related charges. Her lawyers are asking that she be released and allowed to travel back to the UK to care for her blind mother. The restaurant's owners counter that far from being made whole by the bottles' return, the wines are now essentially unsellable.
As the Post explains, "In the world of high-priced wine, storage conditions are paramount—approximately 55 degrees, 60 to 70 percent humidity, darkness, lying on their sides—and assurance that those conditions were maintained matters." Absent those conditions, "the value goes away," says restaurant co-owner Celeste Borel. Ray's alleged accomplice, Serbian national Nikola Krndija, remains at large. "We do believe he made it home to Serbia," Clarke County Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew Bass told the Post in February.
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