French company to buy California winery named champion of Paris wine tasting

BERKELEY - Chateau Montelena, which shocked the wine world in 1976 when it beat French vintages in a famous Paris tasting, is expected to be sold, officials close to the deal said today. The buyer? The owner of a Bordeaux estate.

"This is the ultimate recognition, that the French are now buying these great California wineries," said Jon Fredrikson, a wine industry consultant and publisher of the Gomberg-Fredrikson report which tracks wine shipments.

Company officials released a joint statement saying talks were in progress between Michel Reybier, owner of Chateau Cos d'Estournel in Bordeaux, and Chateau Montelena founder Jim Barrett for a sale, pending regulatory approval.

A spokesperson for the Calistoga-based winery declined comment on a possible price.

Vic Motto, CEO of Global Wine Partners in St. Helena which advised the Barrett family, said terms were reached last week and it's possible the deal will close in the fall.

The news follows some prominent sales in California wine country.

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, which won in the red wine category in the 1976 tasting known as the "Judgment of Paris," was sold last year for $185 million to a joint venture partnership of Washington state-based Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marchese Piero Antinori of Italy.

And in 2004, the Robert Mondavi Winery founded by the late wine country pioneer, was sold to New York state-based Constellation Brands for about $1.35 billion.

The Barretts took over Chateau Montelena in 1972, renovating the 125-year-old estate.

Four years later, Barrett and son Bo were part of a breakthrough for New World wines when a Chateau Montelena chardonnay and a Stag's Leap cabernet sauvignon won the Paris tasting.

Bo Barrett, who has been winemaker at Chateau Montelena since 1982, will "continue to provide the essential knowledge and experience gained from 35 years of living and working on the estate," according to the joint statement.
The Bordeaux chateau has been making wine since the 19th century. It was purchased in 2000 by Reybier, who also owns other Bordeaux properties, including Chateau Marbuzet as well as hotels in France and Switzerland.

News of the sale comes just ahead of widespread release of the movie, "Bottle Shock," based on the tasting victory of 32 years ago.

Back then, California wineries were considered upstarts said Fredrikson, calling the proposed change of ownership a "remarkable irony."

Motto agreed.

"It's just evidence of the growing respect for what is being done in America with wine," he said.

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On the Net:

www.cosestournel.com/
www.montelena.com/