Alex Trelinski
AN INTRUDER entered a Valladolid winery on Sunday and emptied three tanks containing maturing premium wine with a retail value of around €2 million.
The Guardia Civil is searching for the hooded person that appeared to have expert knowledge of how to turn on the taps at the Cepa 21 winery in Castillo de Duero.
Over 60,000 litres of high-end wine was poured out on the floor with security cameras capturing the man who emptied out the contents of three tanks containing the Horcajo and Malabrigo brands which are sold at over €90 a bottle.
Winery owner Jose Moro said the security footage shows the person entering through a door that gives access to the engine room where he began to quickly empty three tanks.
Moro said the intruder knew the system to be able to open the tanks- something which is not straight forward.
He accessed two other tanks but fortunately for Cepa 21 they were already empty.
Of the 60,000 litres of wine spilled, 20,000 were Horcajo brand and was all of this year’s production, while the remaining 40,000 were under the Malabrigo name, accounting for a third of stocks.
Moro said it was clear that the intruder’s sole purpose was to harm the business.
The Guardia Civil will try to establish how he entered the winery, by-passing its security.
No items were stolen from the cellar, ruling out robbery.
