Charlie Trotter Wine Stolen On The Way To Christie's Auction

It's an Encyclopedia Brown-like mystery for the food world: Charlie Trotter And The Case Of The Missing Wine.

The famous chef had been prepping his equally-famous wine collection to go up on the auction block at Christie's later this month, with total sales expected to fetch more than a million dollars.

Eater Chicago reports the massive wine collection was headed for Christie's in New York City, but upon arrival, an entire pallet -- 60 cases, according to Trotter himself -- had gone AWOL.

Trotter also told Eater "ten percent" of vino swiped was of the seriously high-end variety.

(See some of the names and eye-popping prices of wine from Charlie Trotter's auction.)

Some epicurean thieves may have been behind the caper: the missing boxes were marked with "Charlie Trotter's" on them, according to the New York Post. A "mortified" Christie’s reportedly told the famously short-tempered chef “they’ve never had anything stolen” in the past.

The wine was insured, and Christie's is investigating the matter.

On New Year's Day of this year, Trotter announced he was closing his eponymous restaurant in Chicago after 25 years to study philosophy.