chateau montelena

Rare Judgment of Paris Wine Up For Auction To Benefit Haiti

Vintages from the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting are very hard to obtain. The France vs. U.S. wine tasting forever changed the way the world regarded the then-upstart Napa wine region and the historic event was immortalized in the movie "Bottle Shock." Decanter reports that a rare bottle of ex-cellar 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay will be auctioned off by Spectrum Auctions to raise funds for the Friends of the Orphans Haitian Initiative.

At the Judgment of Paris tasting this wine beat all other whites including four Burgundies. "This wine has historical significance in the annals of winemaking, in that the event changed winemaking for the better, all over the world," said Chateau Montelena owner Jim Barrett. "I can think of no better way to use this wine than to put it up for auction with the proceeds to help alleviate the suffering of the poor people of Haiti."

The bottle comes in a special wooden box engraved with the history of the wine and the lot also includes images of Jim Barrett and the France vs. Paris tasting organizer and wine critic Steven Spurrier and a copy of the official tasting results. There are only a few bottles left in the winery's own cellar and one in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, it is not known how many other bottles remain in private hands.

Online bidding has already begun for the single-lot auction and sits at $1,700 last time I looked. We can expect it to go much higher, Spectrum hasn't set an estimate for this bottle because there is not really a limit to how high it could go. The live auction takes place on July 18 at 8p.m. at Chateau Montelena in Calistoga, California.

Tags: chardonnay, chateau montelena, Judgment of Paris, spectrum auctions, steven spurrier, wine

Wine.com Makes the Crimson Elixir "By Appointment Only"

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Many a gift is made that much more compelling by the addition of a bottle of wine. So when the opportunity arises to give a gift that is sprinkled with phrases like "private" and "VIP" and "Napa," and that gift comes with not one, but three, bottles of distinguished ambrosia -- well, it begins to look like a little bit of attention might be in order.

Wine.com's By Appointment Only will stuff your mailbox with a package of cabernets from Quintessa, Chateau Montelena, and Caymus. Yet those are merely to get you in the mood. The feature delight comes the next time you visit Napa: private appointments at each vineyard, during which you'll tour the facilities, sample as-yet-unbottled selections straight from the barrels -- so bring a straw -- and if Madame Nature plays fair, a tour of the vineyard

These are no rush jobs, either: each group is just four people, and each visitation lasts up to 3 hours. Which means that when you've finished your preliminary samplings and you want to know what makes Caymus so subtly capricious, Chateau Montelena so delicately moving, and Quintessa so.. just plain divine, By Appointment Only is your peek behind their veils. Oh, and priced at $500, it also has a superb finish: it's good until the summer of 2011.

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Tags: by appointment only, ByAppointmentOnly, caymus, chateau montelena, ChateauMontelena, napa, quintessa, wine, wine.com

French Chateau Picks Up Famed Napa Winery

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Last month I mentioned that Chateau Montelena, one of Napa Valley's best-known wineries, might be for sale. Now the San Francisco Chronicle reveals the new owner. Michel Reybier, owner of Bordeaux chateau Cos d'Estournel, will soon own the Calistoga property pending approval from the federal government. There has been no definitive word on a price but rumor has it that the figure is in the $100 to $110 million range. The potential deal comes at a time when attention is being focused toward the winery anyway because of the release of the movie "Bottle Shock," which centers on the events surrounding the moment when the 1973 Montelena Chardonnay outscored top white Burgundies in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.

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Tags: bordeaux, chateau montelena, france, napa valley, NapaValley

Chateau Montelena For Sale?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Napa Valley is buzzing about the rumors that one of the most esteemed wineries in the region, Chateau Montelena might be up for sale. Wine Spectator tracked down Bo Barrett, the winemaker and son of founder Jim Barrett, who was mum about a possible sale. But sources say that the winery has been but up for sale and offers over $100 million have come in. The Barrett family is currently considering offers. Chateau Montelena makes fine estate-grown Cabernets which currently sell for $125 a bottle. The winery is also one of the oldest in the area, dating back to 1882 when Alfred L. Tubbs bought the land and built the beautiful chateau. It was in bad shape in the late 1960s when Jim Barrett and a team of investors came along and with famed winemaker Mike Grgich started producing respected wines. Montelena's second vintage, the 1973, won the tasting in Paris in 1976.

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Tags: chateau montelena, ChateauMontelena, estate, wine, winery