billionaires vinegar

Broadbent Settles in Billionaire's Vinegar Lawsuit

Filed under: Wine

Bartholomew Broadbent let me know that his father Michael Broadbent has settled his lawsuit against Random House for defamation of character for his potrayal in the book The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace. The book centered on the infamous Jefferson wine bottles and in Broadbent's view suggested that Michael Broadbent, an esteemed wine writer and auctioneer and head of Christie's wine department from 1966 to 1992 had behaved in an unprofessional manner. Broadbent's relationship with Hardy Rodenstock, the discoverer of the bottles was called into account.

The book tells the story of German collector, Rodenstock who had allegedly found rare bottles of Chateau Lafite walled up in a basement in Paris. An 1787 Lafite engraved Th:J sparked worldwide interest because it was thought that Jefferson had bought the bottles when he was in Paris serving as ambassador. Three of the bottles were sold at Christie's, where Broadbent worked, between 1985 and 1987 including the the 1787 Lafite which was bought by Malcolm Forbes for $156,450 fin a 1985 auction.

The billionaire in the title is William Koch who sued Rodenstock claiming that he was the source for four Jefferson bottles that Koch bought in 1988. Those bottles are now believed to be fake. Rodenstock has said that the bottles were genuine but has not submitted them for testing. The book sold well and a Will Smith-produced film of the story is in development. Broadbent told Decanter that the sum he settled for was ''not excessive, but enough to buy a good few cases of wine, and to give something to the wine trade benevolent fund." He also said he was celebrating with a magnum of Mouton 1990 at a dinner he and his wife Daphne held for his legal team at his club, Brooks's in Mayfair. He is considering whether or not to take out an injunction on the film.

Author Benjamin Wallace has defended his book. His statement, published on Dr. Vino, says that Broadbent has "chosen to blame the messenger, and doubly so that he is blaming the messenger for something the messenger is not actually saying." Wallace says that his book never portrayed Broadbent as acting in bad faith. Random House has agreed not to distribute the book in the U.K. but it remains available in the United States and elsewhere.

Tags: billionaires vinegar, BillionairesVinegar, lawsuit, michael broadbent, MichaelBroadbent

Michael Broadbent Sues Over Billionaire's Vinegar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

If, like me, you enjoyed the The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace, a book on the infamous Jefferson wine bottles, you might be interested to know that one of the key players in the book, wine writer and auctioneer Michael Broadbent, is now suing Random House for defamation of character. Decanter reports that Broadbent is suing for libel in the UK where the book is now available. It came out in May 2008.

The book tells the story of German collector Hardy Rodenstock who had allegedly found rare bottles of Chateau Lafite walled up in a basement in Paris. An 1787 Lafite engraved Th:J sparked worldwide interest because it was thought that Jefferson had bought the bottled when he was in Paris serving as ambassador. Three of the bottles were sold at Christie's, where Broadbent worked, between 1985 and 1987 including the the 1787 Lafite which was bought by Malcolm Forbes for $156,450 fin a 1985 auction.

The billionaire in the title is William Koch who is suing Rodenstock claiming that he was the source for four Jefferson bottles that Koch bought in 1988. Those bottles are now believed to be fake. Rodenstock has said that the bottles were genuine but has not submitted them for testing. The Billionaire's Vinegar goes into fascinating detail on the ways the bottles might have been faked but ends on a rather soft note simply because lawsuits related to the case are ongoing.

Broadbent's lawsuit says that Benjamin Wallace accuses him of inventing a bid for the half-bottle of 1784 Margaux to boost bidding and implies that he may have colluded with Rodenstock. The 82-year-old wine expert says the book has wrecked his reputation. In the book he does come off as rather eager to believe in Rodenstock's story but for a wine expert to have an opportunity to taste vintages of such great age the temptation must have been very great. Random House has said it will defend the book. Movie rights have already been snapped up.

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Tags: billionaires vinegar, BillionairesVinegar, hardy rodenstock, HardyRodenstock, michael broadbent, MichaelBroadbent, wine, wine fraud, WineFraud