The appeals court in Bordeaux has once again postponed the trial of the so-called “Fine Wine Gang,” which is accused of burglarizing and trafficking stolen bottles of prestigious wines.
The criminal network began its operations around 2019 and was partially dismantled in December 2020 during a major police and gendarmerie operation spanning the Gironde, Dordogne, and Loire regions. Authorities targeted various teams specializing in the theft of high-end wines. In a related operation in March 2021 at a wholesale center in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis), investigators uncovered a significant channel involved in the resale of stolen merchandise. This network, which prominently featured Asian restaurateurs and merchants, was found to be a key conduit in the distribution of some of the world’s most coveted wines.
Hundreds of bottles of prestigious wines—including rare Bordeaux vintages like Château d’Yquem, Lafite Rothschild, Angelus, Petrus, Château Margaux, Cheval Blanc, and the renowned Romanée-Conti from Burgundy—were seized during the crackdown.
The decision to postpone the trial came after legal complications arose regarding procedural irregularities and the lack of an initial trial verdict.
The trial began with procedural battles, quickly highlighting significant judicial complications. Attorney Charles Dufranc, representing a 60-year-old Chinese restaurateur charged with receiving stolen goods, argued vehemently against proceeding without a primary court ruling. He emphasized that his client’s fundamental right to appeal a first-instance verdict would be compromised.
This is not the first delay for this high-profile case. In 2023, the trial was postponed due to errors in the indictment issued by the investigating judge. This resulted in the matter escalating to France’s highest judicial authority, the Court of Cassation, which redirected it to the Bordeaux appeals court—still without any primary court examination on the merits of the accusations.
Lawyers for the twelve defendants, half of whom are Chinese nationals, argued this procedural irregularity severely undermines their clients’ rights. The defense cited the European Convention on Human Rights, emphasizing every defendant’s right to appeal judgments before a higher jurisdiction.
Even the advocate general acknowledged discomfort with the situation, describing it as a “philosophical problem” and expressing concern about defendants losing the critical right to appeal.
Awaiting review by the Court of Cassation, this high-stakes case involving charges of organized burglary, criminal conspiracy, and trafficking stolen wine worth approximately five million euros has been rescheduled. The next hearings are set from November 26 to 28 at the Bordeaux Court of Appeals.