Ukraine has opened a criminal case after Vladimir Putin and disgraced Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi uncorked a 241 year old bottle of wine, the oldest in annexed Crimea.
The pair tasted the 1775 Jeres de la Frontera but now face accusations of plundering a treasure in the ‘occupied’ peninsula.
It was during a controversial visit to Crimea last week that scandal-prone Berlusconi asked to taste the Spanish wine which is valued at around £60,000 a bottle.
The wine was produced during the 18th-century reign of Catherine the Great and brought to Crimea by Count Mikhail Vorontsov, who served as governor-general of the Black Sea outpost.
He established the Massandra winery that was grabbed by Russia when it annexed Crimea from Ukraine last year.
Prosecutors in Kiev say the incident involving Putin and Berlusconi amounts to “large-scale misuse of property.”
Putin and Berlusconi are longstanding friends who have been on holiday together.
