Thieves steal 30,000 bottles of wine worth $5.6 million in Italy

Rome: Thieves in Tuscany have stolen 30,000 bottles of wine worth an estimated five million euros ($5.6 million) from the renowned Marchesi Antinori winery, the company said on Friday.

"As far as we know, there has never been such a big heist in Italy," a company representative, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

The stolen wines were three of the company's reds -- Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso -- which sell for 120 to 300 euros or more depending on the vintages.

"They are our among our most iconic labels and are certainly also prized by collectors," the company representative said.

The theft happened last weekend at a warehouse in central Italy where the prized wines had been prepared for export.

"It's our biggest warehouse, where all the bottles go before being dispatched," the company representative said.

The thieves deactivated the alarm and the theft was only discovered on Monday.

Two vans were used for the robbery and the company believes five or six people took part.

Last month, 3,000 bottles of Barolo were stolen in the northern Piedmont region. The wines were believed to be worth a total of several hundred thousand euros.

"Other vineyards have been targeted but not ours" until now, the representative said.