Overview
- Natali Ray, 56, has been arrested in Clarke County, Virginia, and charged with grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand larceny and defrauding an innkeeper.
- She is being held at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center and is scheduled to appear in court on December 3.
- Investigators say eight bottles were removed from the L'Auberge Provençale cellar on November 19 after a visitor using the alias “Stephanie Baker” distracted staff during a booked tour.
- Two bottles—a 2019 Échézeaux and a 2021 Grands Échézeaux—were later found on the grounds, while six Domaine de la Romanée-Conti bottles worth about $41,500 remain missing.
- Police have alerted local auction houses as a male associate believed to have swapped in decoys remains at large, and the sheriff described the scheme as “orchestrated and planned.”