Rudy K was arrested by FBI

[William P]

Not surprising. Well, maybe it is.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/nyreg ... s.html?hpw

[Houndsong]

I'm sure this will get some snark treatment but I'm glad. Fraud requires so much premeditation it's one of my least favorite crimes.

[pomilion]

Seems the authorities are not only looking at the 2008 Acker/Ponsot incident but also the recent Spectrum/Vanquish auction. Hopefully this will lead to continuing and greater scrutiny of the role of auction houses actively or recklessly participating in fraud.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 89356.html

"At London auction last month, Mr. Kurniawan is alleged to have tried to sell at least 78 bottles of wine purported to be Domaine de la Romanee-Conti through a third party. That wine was expected to sell for $736,000, according to the complaint.

That was halted after members of an Internet wine-appreciation bulletin board raised questions about the collection."

[JonoB]

This plot has certainly thickened.

According to Don, Rudy has been selling wine through Spectrum for three years with their knowledge that the wines were his.

[JimHow]

I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of evidence they seized that was used for counterfeiting.

[pomilion]

Mike Steinberger has posted a copy of the complaint on his blog:

http://winediarist.com/wp-content/uploa ... laint1.pdf

Pretty interesting reading...

[pomilion]

More from jaw-dropping links from Mike Steinberger's site:

http://winediarist.com/wp-content/uploa ... Appeal.pdf

http://winediarist.com/wp-content/uploa ... 3/Ex-A.gif

http://winediarist.com/wp-content/uploa ... 3/Ex-B.gif

http://winediarist.com/wp-content/uploa ... Ex-C-1.gif

The Exhibits are -- I'm not sure what to say, simply incredible...

[JimHow]

Wow! Pretty amazing stuff.

[Houndsong]

Man, he sure drank the good stuff! And lots of it. I too save all my foil capsules, regularly soak off my labels, and keep my original bottles. It's a habit! I used to keep date stamps too, when it was important to authenticate correspondence.

It's amazing how careless these chateau/domaines can be with their marks/labels. I realize they can't be exact in the number of units they'll produce, but you'd think they'd destroy the unused containers/labels for a given vintage!

Calling JimHow, calling JimHow.

[JimHow]

An itemization of the items seized:


Kurniawan also has powerful incentives to flee the country once he is released
because the case against him is very strong – and getting stronger. Kurniawan is charged with,
among other things, attempting to sell counterfeit wine for more than $1.3 million. Yesterday, the
FBI searched Kurniawan’s home pursuant to a judicial search warrant and found an elaborate
counterfeiting operation. The agents found and seized, among other things, the following:
• Thousands of printed wine labels to many of the most expensive wines in the world,
such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Chateau Petrus. A photograph of some
of the labels that were seized is attached as Exhibit A.
• Hundreds of corks, foil wrappers used to cover corks, and wax used to seal corks.
A photograph of some of the foil wrappers and labels is attached as Exhibit B.
• Scores of rubber stamps for vintages (years in which a wine was made), the names
of wineries, and other identifying features found on wine bottles. A photograph of
some of the rubber stamps is attached as Exhibit C.
• Glue, stencils, special scissors that cut paper in the particular pattern of certain wine
labels.
• A mechanical device used to insert corks into wine bottles.
• Scores of bottles in the preparatory stages of being converted into counterfeit bottles,
such as bottles without labels, bottles with inconsistent labeling (for example, bottles
with counterfeit labels attached but some of the authentic labels still on the bottle
because they had not yet been removed by Kurniawan).
• Bottles of moderately priced California wine with writing on the bottles indicating
that the California wines would be used to pass as expensive Bordeaux wines.
• Bottles soaking in the kitchen sink to aid in the removal of the wine labels.

[JimHow]

Has He Who Shall Remain Nameless reviewed any wines at any tastings/dinners/auctions organized by this worm?

[Houndsong]

"• Bottles of moderately priced California wine with writing on the bottles indicating that the California wines would be used to pass as expensive Bordeaux wines."

Pretty much says it all. Thanks a lot, "+"!

[DavidG]

Has He Who Shall Remain Nameless reviewed any wines at any tastings/dinners/auctions organized by this worm?

Not sure, but I suspect most wine enthusiasts and even "experts" would be easily fooled by a good fake of a wine that they'd had no personal prior experience with. That said, Allen Meadows got suspicious about a (most likely fake) Rudy K bottle of Ponsot served blind to him when the wine was revealed. That's pretty impressive. Even more impressive: Meadows contacted Ponsot, which started the chain of events resulting in a bunch of Rudy K Ponsot fakes being pulled from the Acker auction a few years back.

The story is fascinating on many levels. It's been a source of great entertainment for the past month or so to check in daily on the WB thread to see what's new. The Acker connection is something that seems to be flying somewhat under the radar, maybe because it's less current. Acker loaned Rudy millions (maybe because he couldn't pay for wines he won at auction?) and had a vested interest in Rudy's fake Ponsots selling. I remember the drama surrounding that auction - the wines were still on the block despite Ponsot's protests and were only withdrawn when Laurent Ponsot personally showed up in the room:
(http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature ... ttles_4131)

Jim, I see material for your next book in here. Hollywood might even be interested...

[JimHow]

...I thought the dystopian story of Jadot Clos des Ursules in 2085, with the aged Burgundy sky filtering the distant sun, was pretty good, but I guess not!

Besides, the fact of this stuff is too strange for fiction:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/nyreg ... fraud.html

[JimHow]

I wonder if he's going to miss his Romanee Conti in federal prison for the next 7-10 years....

Do you think they serve d'Yquem '67 for dessert at Leavenworth?

[Houndsong]

If moderately priced bottles of Cali Cab can be passed of as expensive Bordeaux, why am I even drinking mid-priced Bordeaux?

Seriously though, if this stuff is suitable for fooling your average gullible, well-heeled Joe who does crave expensive Bordeaux, doesn't this say something about points-driven style drift? I've said this before but why is it that the most Cali-like vintages of Bordeaux get the highest praise from the critics (generally)?

[DavidG]

Rudy also brought over a lot of mid-level Bordeaux according to those who did importing for him. So who knows, maybe the Cali Cabs went into Screagle and Harlan bottles while the Bdx went towards making old and rare bottles of Petrus and Lafite. People have speculated that he used old but inexpensive Burgs to make those Ponsots and DRCs. I wonder if he doctored the stuff with anything besides wine? Anyone remember the broken bottle of wine episode from Northern Exposure?

Rudy seems to have been more desparate and willing to take chances than Hardy Rodenstock, the other great wine fraudster of our time. How bright (or ballsy) can you be if you're making counterfeits of things that never existed in the first place?

Points-driven, label-driven, this business sure gives me pause. This, along with those neuroscience studies suggesting most of us are pretty incapable of distinguishing awesome from awful... Although I'm reasonably consistent in being able to distinguish between what I like and don't like, even blind, it's made me wonder what reasonably priced stuff I might be missing. Problem is, there's just too much to choose from, so I guess I'll keep listening to the critics and my BWE buddies for leads.

[Houndsong]

You're awfully modest for a guy who, 6,000 miles from home, drove 90 miles through hostile desert, and, having experienced his own shattering "MacArthur Park" moment with his tiramisu, pulled '"mid-70s Heitz Martha's" out of his behind.

I'm not sure I buy the ultimate conclusions of these tasting studies. I'll bet most people, even I, can distinguish between wines A and B, i.e. they are different. It's just that most people, including myself, don't sit down consciously and train themselves to categorize the differences so that they can say, ah, this is left bank and this is right, and on and on. Then for sure there are the organoleptic freaks of nature ... As for the whole awesome and awful bit, who's to say that the $15 bottle of California Cabernet Franc isn't more appealing than a shut-in, austere, nervy $1,500 bottle of 2006 Ch. Lafite? Obviously everyone here could "appreciate" the Lafite and give it 96 points while admitting it wasn't much fun to drink at the moment, but a disinterested person's opinion that it was yucky would not necessarily be invalid.

[DavidG]

I'll bet most people, even I, can distinguish between wines A and B, i.e. they are different. It's just that most people, including myself, don't sit down consciously and train themselves to categorize the differences so that they can say, ah, this is left bank and this is right, and on and on.

I think your comments here are key. Getting pretty far off the original subject: a lot of tasting "prowess" is just a lot of experience and good smell/taste memory and luck. But when it comes to deciding whether something is good or not, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there's no substitute for your own palate and the glass that's in front of you. I've never gotten too down on a wine for lack of typicity if it otherwise has a lot to offer. Sure, I understand you want to be able to predict what a wine will taste like before you pull the cork. Germans and sweetness levels drive me crazy on this account. But if you've read or personally experienced that XYZ Cali Pinot tastes like a really great Syrah, and you're in the mood for a really great Syrah, well, why not open a bottle of XYZ and enjoy it for what it is?

So back to the question of counterfeit wines and what it says about tasting acumen: It's probably easier to pass off faked rarities that almost no one has had experience with than to do that with wines that are frequently tasted and drunk.

[robertgoulet]

I suspect majority of these wines are all in china and doubtful if they have the knowledge, technology or experience to uncover the fakes. It will be like a scavenger hunt, who knows how many years down the road Rudy fakes will show their ugly face. Spectrum has been actively building a base of clients in hong kong if I'm not mistaken, so I'm sure they have a good handful of these fugazis. Spectrum should have all their records seized and these overseas clients should be notified of this dubious activity.

[DavidG]

I don't think it's safe to assume that the majority of the fake bottles are in China. That may be an easier market, especially now that the problem has been highlighted (for the second time in a few years) and Westerners are on notice. But plenty of fake wine was sold in to Europeans, Americans, and probably non-Chinese Asians as well. Bill Koch is suing Rudy. The auction of fake Ponsot's was in NY a few years ago. Laurent Ponsot is saying that 80% of pre-'80s Burgs on the auction market are fakes (presumable referring to the high end stuff). Anyone anywhere who's bought or drunk expensive older Burgs (or Bordeaux for that matter - did you see the pic of the pile of fake Bdx labels found at Rudy's?) in recent years has to wonder if they are fake. And not only those who bought at auction. Plenty of those auction wines end up getting resold at retail (Premier Cru does this, I believe) or in restaurants.