Joining the counterfeit world of forged hundreds and fraudulent Vermeers come bottles of fake Château Pétrus and Sassicaia. A top New York sommelier helps CITY’s Pameladevi Govinda sniff out shady wine.

Billionaire William Koch must have felt like he was buying liquid history when he spent a half-million dollars on five extremely old and rare wine bottles, including a 1784 and 1787 Château Lafite and a 1784 and 1787 Château Branne-Mouton, said to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson. But before taking his first sip, Koch was already asking for a refund: the wines are probably all fake.

Fraudulent wines are circulating the market at an alarming rate. Bottles of old Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), the most famous Grand Cru Burgundy, and Château Margaux, a First Growth Bordeaux, have become as hot as the most sought-after art pieces. "Treasured wines are actively traded on the circuit like works of art, and like in the art world, you're going to encounter fakes," says Joshua Nadel, sommelier at Cru, arguably New York's best wine restaurant. "It's always a certain group, the type I like to call blue chip wines. It is most rife among First and Second Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru red Burgundies because they command the highest prices and are the most collected."

Nadel says that while he's encountered fraudulent bottles at both Cru and Veritas Restaurant, where he previously worked, their contents have never passed a customer's lips. "They have rarely, if ever, been absorbed into the inventory," he explains. "If they have in fact slipped through our nets—there are good fakes out there!—they will not be served, as we taste each bottle before service."

It's outside the restaurant scene where Nadel sees and tastes his fair share of fakes. "It's been on the rise in the last few years," he says. "There have been more young people accumulating wealth and they're attracted to having these sought-after wines but don't necessarily have the experience of knowing the wines." Though it's still a rare occurrence, a good place to spot a fake is at a private wine dinner hosted by a green collector. Nadel is often invited as a guest through the sommelier circuit or sometimes he's there to work the event. The dinners might showcase verticals or just a bunch of rare wines with vintages that are older than the host. "There was one time we were meant to be tasting a Château Pétrus 1982 [a famed vintage in Bordeaux] and it tasted so obviously of Australian origin to me."

He also suggests that growing economies in countries like China and India and the taste for wine on the rise worldwide means more demand and not enough supply. There are no hard stats to support the number of legitimate bottles versus the counterfeits, but, as Nadel points out, there is a finite amount of this treasured wine produced. "For many of the first growth Bordeaux, it falls in the neighborhood of 20,000 cases, while Pétrus is closer to 3,000," he says. "It's not difficult to do the math on this, as each day the supply decreases, and I am sure more ‘82 Pétrus' has been consumed in Vegas and Moscow alone than was actually ever made."

Some wines, especially cult Burgundies, are made in even smaller quantities. "Take, for example, Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux, one of the most valuable of all wines," Nadel says. "He made about 3,500 bottles per vintage, weather conditions permitting. That is 300 cases, for the world, of which about 75 would come to the U.S."

For big time Burgundy fans, discovering your prized Henri Jayer is corked is enough to send your heart plummeting down to the pit of your stomach, but worse yet is finding out it's a fake. If you're still intent to drop a lot of money on rare wines, Nadel suggests spending a bit more cash to hire an expert to confirm the authenticity. "It's so disappointing when you discover a counterfeit; it really takes the air out of the balloon."

NADEL'S TIPS ON HOW TO SPOT A FAKE

If the Bottle Fits. Burgundies come in what is known as the Burgundy Bottle with a gently sloping shoulder, while Bordeaux wines come in high-shouldered bottles.

Through the Looking Glass. Glass technology evolved relatively recently. 
The quality, color, and sophistication (or lack thereof) in an old bottle is recognizable by 
those in the know.

Be Label Conscious. Check that the vintage date for particular wines and producers are in their usual place. Some producers number every bottle that leaves their estate. Be wary of any differences in font, subtle spelling errors, and anything that looks too freshly printed. Hoax labels are rarely perfect.

The Cork. Nadel recommends cutting away at the foil that wraps the cork to check for the brand stamp and correct vintage date.

Proof is in the Taste. Educated wine professionals are trained on tasting blind. They can taste New World over Old World and Cabernet over Pinot Noir. If this isn't something you're adept at, let the training begin. You'll often hear people say that a wine tasted surprisingly fresh despite being decades old but be aware of wines that have too many primary fruit characteristics. That old Rhône should be tasting more like earth and leather than berries and jam!

Photography Anthony Cross
Photo Assistant Danielle Stingu
Fake Wine Dealer Abdel Kachtiene

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