The two men and a woman are accused of swindling a Parisian wine merchant out of 18 bottles of Petrus claret, which sells for at least €4,000 a bottle, and two bottles of champagne.

The merchant, who has not been named, said a middleman who arranged the deal appeared to be “clever” with “real knowledge” of wine, The Times reports.

“He talked about a Petrus 2000 — it’s not any old wine,” he added.

Only after exchanging the bottles for a bag containing €95,000 in cash did the merchant realise the notes were fakes.

It took eight months for the three suspects to be apprehended and they will now face trial next month. The bottles have not been recovered.