Italian wine producer Marchesi Antinori has had around 30,000 bottles of premium wine worth an estimated €5m stolen from its warehouse in Tuscany.

The family-owned winemaker, which dates back to 1385, was targeted by a group of at least seven masked thieves who broke into its storage facility in Cortona over the weekend.

The thieves disabled the alarm system before loading two large trucks with bottles of some of Antinori’s most expensive wines, including Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso, according to the Financial Times.

The stolen wine had been stored at the facility ahead of shipments to international customers.

The theft was discovered on Monday morning when employees arrived at the warehouse, with police now investigating the incident.

Antinori chief executive Renzo Cotarella said the company remained hopeful that the stolen stock could be recovered, questioning how such a large quantity of expensive wine could be sold without attracting attention.

The bottles are understood to retail for between €150 and €500 each, making the stolen shipment one of the most valuable wine thefts reported in recent years.

Cotarella has urged wine merchants, distributors and collectors to be cautious of suspicious offers, particularly bottles being sold through unusual channels or at unexpectedly low prices.

The company hopes that alerting the international wine trade will make it harder for those responsible to sell the stolen bottles.

Marchesi Antinori is one of Italy’s oldest wine producers, with the business having remained in family ownership for 26 generations.

The theft follows another incident at Italian winery Conterno Fantino in September, when around 3,000 bottles of Barolo were stolen from its premises in Piedmont.

No arrests have been reported in connection with the Antinori theft, and investigations are ongoing.

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