CCTV captures man stealing $12,500 bottle of French wine from Sydney liquor store

An ambitious thief has struck at a bottle shop in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, making off with a prized bottle of rare French wine undetected. See the video here.

A bottle-o manager has called on a thief to return a $12,500 bottle of French red wine after it was stolen on Monday.

MS Cellars manager Jorge Paz said CCTV cameras had captured a man stealing the bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru 2015 - a prized red wine from the historic Burgundy region in France – from a glass cabinet in his Lane Cove store about 1pm.

The CCTV footage, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, shows the man looking around before he opens the glass cabinet and brazenly takes the bottle.

He then covers the bottle with a jacket and calmly walks out of the store.

A woman was also seen with him at the time.

An alleged thief has stolen a $12,500 bottle of wine from a Sydney bottle shop.

Mr Paz told said he felt frustrated given the wine is worth $12,500.

“If they return it, it will be good – this is a very expensive bottle,” he said. “I’m very sad, I’m frustrated.

“It’s Romanée-Conti, one of the most unique and one of the most sought after wines. Many politicians, stars and well-known people (drink it).”

MS Cellars staff contacted NSW Police following the incident.

CCTV shows the man taking the prized wine from its glass case.

Mr Paz said he suspects the wine was taken out of the glass cabinet when he and his colleagues were fixing a fridge in the store.

“It was behind glass … it was open, we assume when we tried to close it that we didn’t lock it properly,” he said.

“He reached to the bottle and put it underneath his jacket and left.”

Mr Paz said the bottle-o business had only recently opened in the area.

“We’re locals, we just started last week, we’re a family-run business,” he said.

“We try to be well stocked and have a unique selection.

“I’ve worked in Mosman and this has never been seen before.

“We have all these cameras and (they) didn’t have their faces covered.”

A bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

Richebourg Grand Cru 2015 was taken, valued at $12,500.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is widely considered one of the most renowned wine producers in the world and its bottles are usually among the world’s most priciest.

The estate has a storied history and was once owned by a cousin of King Louis XV of France, who reigned over the country from 1715 until 1774.

“This selection is meant to be for wine lovers,” Mr Paz said of his Lane Cove store.

“Romanée-Conti - notes of blackberry, rose and black tea. One of the best from France. My boss is very sad and disappointed - you can’t steal from people.”