Words can’t express the utter perfidy of the act I learned about this morning via a tweet from @vinoroma, a fellow blogger who lives in Italy. According to more than one Italian web site, in the middle of last night, someone broke into the cellar of Gianfranco Soldera in Montalcino, Italy, and opened the taps on all of his barrels, spilling every vintage from 2007 to 2012 onto the floor for a complete loss.

To do this to any winemaker would be almost as bad as murdering his children. To have it happen to literally one of the best wines in the world is just staggeringly cruel to the rest of us as well. It’s like torching a bunch of Picasso paintings.

No details have been forthcoming about how this break-in occurred or what might possibly have motivated such a heinous and vicious act, but it has naturally prompted wild speculation about who Soldera could have pissed off so badly and how, that such an extreme measure would be seen as necessary.

If I learn anything else, I will most certainly share it. In the meantime, I will be in mourning.