A scandal of unprecedented scale has rocked Taiwan’s wine-collecting community, uncovering a massive counterfeit wine operation allegedly involving two local companies, Top 100 Wine and UMC. With estimated losses reaching €300 million.
At the heart of the controversy is 67-year-old Wood Chen, a prominent Taiwanese tycoon and wine collector, best known as the former president of electronics giant Yageo Group.
The first suspicions arose in late 2023, when a wealthy collector brought a bottle of Meursault 1er Cru Perrières by the renowned producer Coche-Dury to a private dinner. The bottle, purchased from UMC, was scrutinized by an exclusive agent of the winery who happened to be present. The wine’s lackluster quality and inconsistencies on the label raised immediate red flags.
Word of possible counterfeits quickly spread among Taiwanese wine aficionados. Investigations uncovered a significant number of fake bottles, all traced back to the same two merchants. Many of these counterfeits were linked to Wood Chen’s personal collection, further intensifying the scandal. Despite the evidence, Chen has maintained his innocence, even as the number of suspected counterfeit bottles continues to rise.
Adding complexity to the story is Wood Chen’s brother, Pierre Chen, a globally renowned collector of both art and wine. In November 2023, Pierre auctioned off 25,000 bottles from his collection through Sotheby’s in a series titled “The Epicurean’s Atlas.” The first sale, held in Hong Kong, fetched nearly $17 million.
Although no direct connection has been established between the brothers’ collections, experts speculate that the scandal may be part of a larger, far-reaching network. Some believe the full scope of this case has yet to emerge.