One of the northern California wine country purveyors, the storied Napa Valley vineyard that put California wine country wines on the map and usurped France's dominance of the wine making industry, is being sold, ironically, to a French firm. The Chateau Montelena vineyard, owned by James "Bo" Barrett and his father, James L. Barrett, with resident vintner at the time, Miljenko "Mike" Grgich - now owner of Grgich Hills Estate, was renowned for its legendary 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the international wine competition, The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 in Paris, France which forever altered the wine making landscape, shifting it beyond the French borders and opening the door to prominence of varietals from around the world.
The Barretts have suggested that they have a firm deal with Michel Reybier, owner of the Cos d'Estournel to buy the Chateau Montelena property with the Barretts remaining on as consultants through 2010 to oversee the production of the roughly 36,000 cases of wine created per year. While no financial figures have been disclosed, Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley industry insiders place the deal between $110 million and $150 million. By comparison, the other vineyard which took the top prize in the red wine category at the 1976 French competition, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, sold for $185 million last year in 2007.
