(WineSpectator) - A French court sentenced 15 men for a daring scheme to rob elite châteaus and sell stolen wines.

“Get me a unit of Cheval, a good chunk of Cheval,” said the voice on the recording, a taped telephone conversation between the accused mastermind of an eight-month crime spree that stole more than $1.1 million of Bordeaux’s best wines and one of his partners, who allegedly fenced the wines for him. Both men, along with 13 accomplices, stood trial in Bordeaux’s criminal court this week, accused of robbing 18 wineries and négociants, including Châteaus d’Yquem, Haut-Bailly and Palmer, and selling the wine through a diverse network. The court found all 15 men guilty today, handing down sentences ranging from $67,000 fines to four years in prison.

The man speaking on the recording, according to French gendarmes, was Carlos Da Silva Lopes de Sa, who worked at a catering supply company and a wine club in Biarritz. He was placing an order with Yoann Gautrau, 27, a resident of Cantenac and an alleged cocaine addict. According to state prosecutor Jean-Louis Rey, Gautrau was the ringleader of the 15-man network, though Gautrau’s attorney argued that the young man had been influenced by his older partners, eager to get their hands on lucrative wines.

“It was theft à la carte. They got him excited about earning so much money so quickly,” said defense attorney Alexandre Novion.

During the four-day trial, Gautrau and his uncle, William Allard, sat in a glass-enclosed dock with three guards. Allard had been there before, having spent more than half of his life behind bars for armed robbery and rape.

A few feet away sat their 13 accomplices, a diverse group that included an aging thug with a long rap sheet; two small-town elementary-school teachers; a local bar owner; three Bordeaux négociants; the owner of that catering supply company from Biarritz; and a political science professor from an elite Paris university. Their link? Rey said the men shared a “fascination with the luxury of the world of wine, a world that was out of their reach.”

The spree began on June 10, 2013, when Gautrau and Allard broke into Château d’Yquem and stole 384 half-bottles of d’Yquem 2010 worth more than $110,000. It remains a mystery why a 27-year-old with no knowledge of wine knew enough to specifically take d’Yquem 2010. Prosecutors believe he had received an order. Phone records reveal that he received a phone call from Biarritz the night before.

On Aug. 2, they broke into Château Haut-Bailly, taking 468 bottles. Next, they hit Château Palmer. Every two weeks they robbed another château or négociant after carefully casing the target.

Before each heist, they stole a van or truck. Gautrau then forced gates, cut through locks, scaled walls and squeezed through ventilation systems to access the cellars. He meticulously sprayed his path with bleach to destroy any DNA evidence. His uncle helped him load the cases and escape. They burned each getaway car, again destroying DNA evidence.