July 31, 2017 @ 4:46 pm
Big Rick Hardly Strictly Wine Blog
On June 27, French police in Marseille took Guillaume Ryckwaert, the chairman of the giant bulk-wine merchant Raphaël Michel, and several company managers into custody in Marseille. They were held for 48 hours, and then Ryckwaert was indicted on criminal charges before a tribunal in Carpentras, accused of fraud and deception and violations of the consumer and tax codes.
It’s an investigation that has rocked the Rhône Valley. Ryckwaert stands accused of masterminding a massive fraud for more than three years, allegedly sourcing the equivalent of nearly 4 million cases of table wine and reselling it as premium wine from Rhône appellations, including Côtes du Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.