What Can the Fine-Wine World Learn from the Kurniawan
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(nouveau) After Rudy: What can the fine-wine world learn from the Kurniawan case? The “wine crime of Domaine Ponsot’s expensive reds as hours of deliberation, the jury found the real thing. Kurniawan guilty of mail fraud and wire the century” reached It was fitting that Ponsot was the fraud in connection with fake wines. first of three famous winemakers on He faces up to 40 years in prison, plus its denouement in a the witness stand that day. Fake Ponsot fines. Mooney said he would appeal. Manhattan courtroom wines consigned by Kurniawan to Sentencing is scheduled for April 24. auction house Acker Merrall & Condit in the week before for an April 2008 New York sale set the Vindication and vilification case in motion. The immediate effect, of course, was Christmas, with the The testimonies of Ponsot, Aubert vindication—for Wynne, assistant US conviction of Rudy de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée- attorney Jason Hernandez, Koch, who Conti, and Christophe Roumier of has long been crusading against Kurniawan on multiple Domaine G Roumier were among counterfeit wines, as well as for many the highlights of the landmark United others, including collectors Don counts of mail and wire States of America v Kurniawan trial, Cornwell and Doug Barzelay, who fraud. Elin McCoy the first time the US government had alerted Ponsot to the smoking-gun prosecuted a criminal case against a wines in the 2008 Acker auction. reports on the dramatic wine counterfeiter. Other prominent “This is the end of my crusade,” figures at the trial included anti-wine- Ponsot told me outside the courtroom court proceedings that fraud crusader and billionaire William after his testimony. “It’s a way to say saw three of Burgundy’s Koch and agent James Wynne, the FBI’s ‘watch out’ to fakers. It’s not to save specialist on art and collectible fraud, my wines, but to warn people.” biggest names take who was in charge of the investigation. Since Kurniawan’s conviction, I’ve The evidence on a table in the been pondering just what this high- the witness stand, and courtroom (right) included fraudulent profile case means for the wine world. assesses the long-term bottles and corks and clear plastic First of all, it’s made the issue of bags with thousands of newly produced counterfeit wines very, very public. effects of an affair fake labels, many of Romanée-Conti, Even CBS Television carried the story. that the FBI found in Kurniawan’s It should give pause to every part of the that has raised serious home when they raided it in March high-end wine world, from collectors to questions about 2012. Among the bottles were vintages auction houses to retailers. In the world of 1959, 1962, and 1971 Ponsot Clos St- of fine wine, authenticity is everything. provenance and trading Denis. But as the winemaker testified, Will collectors heed the warning his domaine couldn’t have made the and become less gullible and trusting? practices in today’s wines because they didn’t have access Will demand for rare old wines fine-wine market to the vineyard until the 1980s. decrease? I doubt it. The evidence presented against When I first heard Kurniawan’s n the fourth day of the Rudy Kurniawan—whose real name is Zhen out-of-nowhere-to-major-collector-in- Kurniawan trial this past Wang Huang—was overwhelming. a-couple-of-years story back in 2005, ODecember, I watched Burgundy Jerome Mooney, the defense I was suspicious. But this improbable producer Laurent Ponsot give an attorney, had little to offer beyond background didn’t seem to worry the overview of the famed region to the suggesting his client was a victim and coterie of wealthy wine aficionados— jury in the courtroom at the Daniel P a scapegoat and perhaps he’d planned including Hollywood directors and Moynihan Federal Courthouse in to paper the walls in his home with several successful businessmen—who Manhattan. After pointing out Morey- those thousands of labels, eliciting socialized with Kurniawan. St-Denis, where his domaine is located, chuckles in the courtroom. An Indonesian whose parents are on a large map, he recalled the shock So it was no surprise that on Chinese, he emerged on the Los of discovering that Kurniawan was December 18, after seven and a half Angeles wine scene in 2001, when he passing off counterfeit bottles of days of testimony and only a couple of was 25 years old, and soon began Honda / AFP Getty Images Stan Photography 20 THE WORLD OF FINE WINE ISSUE 43 2014 ISSUE 43 2014 THE WORLD OF FINE WINE 21 This article from The World of Fine Wine may not be sold, altered in any way, or circulated without this statement. Every issue of The World of Fine Wine features coverage of the world’s finest wines in their historical and cultural context, along (nouveau) with news, reviews, interviews, and comprehensive international auction results. For further information and to subscribe to The World of Fine Wine, please visit www.worldo!newine.com or call +44 1795 414 681 amassing a vast collection of expensive later defending him on wine websites. very types of wines Kurniawan faked. wines, especially rare Burgundies. His Those who had early doubts—such The lust to possess something that very nickname, Dr Conti, reflected his love as Los Angeles attorney Don Cornwell, few can have motivates wealthy new of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti who met him in 2002 and later avoided collectors, especially in China. At one wines. After only a few years of tasting him—say they were reluctant to voice Hong Kong auction, a Chinese wine experience, he’d developed a reputation accusations publicly because they lover confided to me that he craved for having an astounding palate, was were afraid of defamation lawsuits. As a bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti, no said to be spending $1 million a month more and more suspect bottles could matter where it came from. on old wines, and was beginning to be traced to Kurniawan, though, other The other big question unanswered move markets. collectors lost faith. by the trial is whether Kurniawan Where did Kurniawan’s initial Successful people with big egos worked alone or whether he had bankroll come from? That big question rarely want to admit they’ve been financial partners or co-conspirators remained unanswered at the trial. fooled. Wine advisor Charles Curtis with deep insider connections. Given Though he’d told various tales about his MW, former head of Christie’s Asia, the wine-counterfeiting factory in his family’s fortune, no one knows the truth. told me that in his experience many home, he was clearly the one creating Later, he began borrowing significant people who own fakes just don’t want labels and bottles. But it’s hard to sums, often from collector friends. to know it. Those who bought from believe he didn’t have some help. Will Eventually he began acting as a Kurniawan now have to face the reality there be further indictments based on dealer, funneling old wines he claimed that some of their most prized wines what the FBI uncovered during the to have unearthed in mysterious are actually worth nothing. What may long investigation? I’m guessing yes. European cellars to friends like prevent them from dumping the wines Fraudulent wine is hardly California restaurateur David Doyle, in the market in the near term is the something new, but the Kurniawan who paid him more than $3 million fear of a continuing investigation. conviction confirms, yet again, that for wines, some of which turned out The moral of the Kurniawan trial is auction houses need to take the problem to be fake. In 2006, Kurniawan gained the age-old adage that if something even more seriously. While Sotheby’s even more notoriety when he managed sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Serena Sutcliffe MW declared publicly Laurent Ponsot, a key figure in the prosecution of Rudy Kurniawan, speaks to the media after his testimony at the Daniel P Moynihan Federal Courthouse in New York to sell $35 million worth of wine at almost a decade ago that the wine two record-breaking Acker Merrall & Buyer beware world was awash with fakes, others in bottles of Romanée-Conti. Europol Burgundy producers, and a few Private wine advisers such as Condit auctions in New York. Vigilant wine lovers contributed the industry were long reluctant to tracked a network that included links California cult wine producers, such Downey and Curtis may be the biggest Maybe the elite collectors who significantly to Kurniawan’s downfall. discuss the issue at all. Several auction to Russia, Hong Kong, Belize, and as Harlan and Colgin, had begun beneficiaries of this well-publicized drank the Bordeaux and Burgundies he Collector Doug Barzelay alerted Ponsot houses, including Christie’s, Acker Switzerland. The Dijon prosecutor’s trying to protect the authenticity of trial if worried wealthy collectors brought to lavish restaurant dinners to questionable bottles being offered Merrall & Condit, Zachys, and office counted at least 400 bottles their wines. I hope the trial inspires now decide that it is worth hiring an (for which he usually picked up the tab) in Acker’s April 2008 New York auction Spectrum, sold wines consigned by that had brought in about ¤2 million. many more to follow suit. expert to vet bottles. were star-struck by the mystique of at Cru restaurant, prompting Ponsot to Kurniawan or one of his representatives. Because prices for rare old wines A half-dozen security companies Mark Solomon, who heads up wine hyper-rare wines that are not easy to insist that Kapon withdraw the wines.