Charlie Trotter Sued Over $46,000 Bottle Of Wine

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jun 14, 2013 3:00PM

The Charlie Trotter's news just keeps coming. To quickly recap: Closing, crazy auction, property for sale. Now, two collectors have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Trotter sold them a counterfeit bottle of wine.

The Tribune reports that Bekim and Ilir Frrokaj shelled out $46,200 for a bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. Or at least they thought it was a bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. When they took it to an expert for evaluation (because wines that cost $46K need their own insurance policies) the expert told them it was fake.

"During dinner, Charlie Trotter and the sommelier explained the rarity and value of the DRC magnum to Benn and Ilir," according to the court filing. "Charlie Trotter and the sommelier also spoke about wines from the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti estate and how those wines are some of the rarest and most valuable in the world."

The two have filed an action for breach of contract, breach of warranty and deceptive practices under the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. The complaint has some great factual allegations we've ever seen, including this: "Defendents operated 'one of the finest restaurants in the world.'" No citation for where that particular quote was from. It's worth noting that the complaint doesn't necessarily allege that Trotter knew the wine was fake, simply that he knew or should have known before he sold it.

They're asking for $75,000 in damages. Trotter insists that bottle is real and that the two are simply suffering from buyers remorse.