In China Selling Empty Bottles of Chateau Lafite Rotschild Is A Booming Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 13th 2011 at 12:01AM

We already knew that Chateau Lafite Rothschild was hot in China but apparently the Bordeaux is so popular that counterfeiters have been scavenging the empty bottles to refill them. The Telegraph reports on the shadowy and lucrative world of China's bottle dealers. The article quotes one dealer who offers the equivalent of over $400 for a good vintage bottle of Lafite Rothschild in top condition. His firm collected empties from bars and restaurants in Shanghai and Beijing.

Alcohol forgeries have long been a problem in China with premium spirits, such as Maotai being frequently faked. Ice wine is also a popular target for fraud. Wine dealers and fine restaurants are taking precautions, inspecting bottles careful for signs of tampering before buying but some older wines tend to be re-corked making unmasking the refilled bottles even more of a challenge.

Tags: bordeaux, bordeaux wine, chateau lafite rothschild, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, china, wine fraud