Sale of Chateau Montelena Dissolves

Nov
05 2008

The prospective sale of the storied Napa Valley Chateau Monetlena vineyard which won the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 competition with its 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay produced by Miljenko "Mike" Grgich - now owner of Grgich Hills Estate, has fallen through. While the Barretts had believed that they had a "firm deal" back in July 2008 with Frenchman Michel Reybier, owner of Cos d'Estournel to buy the property, Mr. Reybier's Reybier Investments failed to meet the obligations of the deal to complete the purchase.

Though neither the sale price nor the terms of the purchase were revealed, Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley wine country industry insiders put the deal in the range of $110 - $185 million. While the potential foreign ownership of the vineyard would have required Justice Department approval, it is not believed that such played any role in derailing the deal. Rather, the French firm was unable to meet its obligations in the time frame of the deal in order to complete the transaction. Jim Barrett stated simply, "The process that just ended did not result in the outcome we or Mr. Reybier desired". Mr. Barrett went on to suggest that they will be returning their focus toward realizing the full potential of the property and had no current plans to court any other buyers for the Napa County property.

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